both the shots at Elbow and at Stony Beach were outstanding; in fact, they were hands down the two best shots of the trip. But there’s no doubt the time spent at Stony Beach will make it the story we will contin- ue to tell when the topic of this trip comes up. And the best part of any trip is the sto- ries that we tell later. —S.B.
John J. Scala (1948-2013) Railroad historian, author, photographer, and publisher John J. Scala passed away on November 12, 2013. Founder of the Weekend Chief Publishing Co., the name of his compa- ny was taken from an old Long Island Rail Road parlor car train, with the whimsical “Dashing Dan” logo done up as an ersatz In- dian brave, a tongue in cheek reference to the Santa Fe’s premiere “Chief” trains. Jok- ingly, John would take on the nickname of “The Chief” amongst his friends. John was a Long Island native, and a great historian of not only the Long Island Rail Road but also all passenger trains in general. I think I was first introduced to John while he was working on “Diesels to Park Avenue,” a history of the EMD FL9 lo- comotive sometime in the late 1990s. We shared common interests (passenger trains, collecting timetables, and eating good food) and remained friends for many years. John had grown kids near my age, and he was completely devoted to them. John was a prolific publisher and author,
having operated Weekend Chief from his house for many years as a one-man opera- tion. He’s probably most well known for “Diesels of the Sunrise Trail” (1984) and also his extensive research that resulted in
“Howard Fogg and the Diesel Image” (1987). Several other books he brought to press cov- ered topics from Hell Gate Bridge to Budd RDC’s to EMD’s diesel demonstrators. He was most recently known for his series of color railroad calendars published for vari- ous historical societies. John taught me some good things about photography that I probably ignored or for- got. I also got my fair share of “fatherly ad- vice” on everything from girls to jobs to buy- ing a first home. His house was in Mineola, which was only a 45 minute drive over the Throgs Neck Bridge from my apartment in Westchester, though we only got together maybe once or twice a year due to our busy schedules. Going to his house was always an adventure I looked forward to, because there were always new projects in progress and great slides to look at, or new books to pore over, or some old timetables to rifle through. On a few occasions John took me trackside to explore his old haunts along the LIRR, though lacking the classic equipment he grew up with. The day before I packed up my apartment to move upstate, I paid a visit to my friend John on Long Island. He was a little grayer than I remembered, looked a little more tired than usual, but we fell right into the same old topics of conversation. It didn’t seem like a year had passed when I got the news of his untimely passing in November. I made one more trip to Long Island to pay my respects, pausing to photograph the morning train to Oyster Bay passing NASSAU tower in Mineola. I got a friendly little horn salute from the engineer as he passed by. I know John would have liked that. —O.M.V.
Start
training here.
Go to
www.greatesthobby.com and get links to hobby resources and reference materials, lists of train shows and events, and information about planning and building your first model railroad layout. We’ll even help you find a shop or club in your area willing to coach you one-on-one. It’s everything you need to know to start enjoying your new hobby. Getting started in the World’s Greatest Hobby has never been easier!
www.greatesthobby.com 877-426-5082
Railfan & Railroad Advertising Index for January 2014 A
A&R Productions .....................................................7 C
Carstens Book Store.........................................20,21 Carstens Publications..................................48,51,55 Chama Steam........................................................18
D
Daylight Prints........................................................55 Durbin & Greenbrier Valley Railroad .....................19
E
Elkhorn Inn.............................................................19 Erie Lackawanna Historical Society..................50,54
F
Richard Farewell....................................................11 G
Golden Rail Video....................................................9 Golden Spike Enterprises......................................18 Greenhill Station Productions ................................15
H
Herron Rail Services..............................................13 Highball Productions................................................5 Holiday Vacations..................................................19
I Illinois Railway Museum ........................................19
Izaak Walton Inn....................................................12 J
Christopher Jenkins...............................................18 M
McMillan Publications ............................................11 Morning Sun Books ...............................................14 Museum, Tourist Line and Dinner Train Directory.19
N
Napa Valley Wine Train.........................................19 National Narrow Gauge Convention 2014.............10 National Railway Historical Society .........................6 Nevada Northern Railroad &
Museum.........Cover IV New York Central System Historical Society...........6 New York, Susquehanna & Western Historical Society................................................18
P
Paired Rail Railroad Productions.............................9 Pocahontas Productions........................................11
R
Railcom....................................................................8
Railroadbooks.biz ..................................................18 Railtrek Media..........................................................6 Revelation Video....................................................17 Rio Hondo Publishing ............................................12 Rocky Hill Inn Bed & Breakfast..............................19 Ron’s Books..............................................8,Cover III
RonRail Pictures....................................................48 S
Greg Scholl Video Productions................................7 Seashore Trolley Museum.....................................49 Signature Press .......................................................5 Sunrisa Publications ..............................................14 Southern Pacific Historical Society........................10 Steam Train Videos ...............................................10 Sunshine Networks................................................51 Swissdriver ............................................................10
T
TRP...............................................................Cover II TRRA Historical Society ........................................12 TTX Company..........................................................8 Tell-Tale Productions...............................................9 Trackside Prints.......................................................7
Trainorders.com.....................................................53 TrainsShipsPlanes.................................................18 TrainWeb ...............................................................52 Transit Gloria Mundi ..............................................49
W
Wheeling & Lake Erie Railway...............................18 WinterRail 2014 .....................................................53 World’s Greatest Hobby.........................................57
Y
Yard Goat Images..................................................14 Youth in Model Railroading....................................52
57
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66