Re: How I caught the bug!/grandfather to blame

My grandfather, who is to blame for me being infected with the bug, took me many places. Since he has alzheimers now, I find myself thinking of the trips we took. He was a professor at LSU and made railfan trips - steam hunting as he called each summer. Sometimes my grandmother went, sometimes not.
We rode the Reader Railroad as a mixed train. We went to the Rebel Railroad/dollywood, Tweetsie, the Black Hills Central after the 69 stopped running. That was the only time I ever heard my grandfather swear. He asked if the narrow gauge was still in use only to find out the operation was now standard gauge only. We walked outside and I remember him just looking around and then he said, "D***."
We went to the Steam Thrashers in Mt. Pleasant, IA and rode behind Argent #6. We rode the Stone Mountain R.R. in Georgia when the trains were still powered by a pair of steam 4-4-0's.
His favorite place was Durango. He had been there several times while still a freight operation.
Despite his interest in narrow gauge and fondness for Durango, his absolute favorite was the giant articulated steam locomotives. On our first trip to Durango we went to Cheyenne to see the Big Boy there. My grandfather's favorite articulated were the Y-6b's of the N&W. His one regret was he never saw one under steam.
He did a great deal for a little boy whose dad was in Viet Nam and I can never really pay him back.