Re: Two Locos (times two) heading to the high country on 05/28/68 (& 08/26/18) . . .

Fascinating story, Olaf -

Amazing, isn't it, how tiny decisions can have life-changing consequences.  Who could have foreseen all the adventures of the past half-century and more, or that 54 years after I first met you and Ernie on the hillside overlooking the S-curves above Dalton, watching a freight battle weeds to gain only 1/4 mile in over 45 minutes, that we'd still be sharing photos and stories?

Speaking of Ernie, that photo of his that you shared above was only six frames later on the roll from the one he took of you (the fourth one on [ngdiscussion.net]) and only two frames beyond this one that I think shows you on the left and Jeff Stebbins on the right:


Steve Forney and I found this spot two years ago this week, on a hillside about half a mile west of Big Horn overlooking both the road and the railroad, and I'm pretty sure we even found the exact same tree limb that Ernie used to frame this shot of youse guys – see [ngdiscussion.net].

- Roosso

p.s.  Here's a photo I took the last time that I saw Ernie – exactly two years ago today – on the TRAINS Magazine charter commemorating the Last Freights in 1968:


That's Jeff Stebbins on the right (Ernie's left), who was engineer on the helper engine both days.  IIRC, I first met Jeff when he ran #489 for my "Springtime in the Rockies" charter in May of 2010 (see [ngdiscussion.net]), but he's been part of the Ernie & Olaf gang for roughly 55 years.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 08/26/2020 07:06PM by Russo Loco.