Re: 484 Hoots Through Coxo

Your comment about saving the coal smoke was interesting. It is difficult to bottle that smell, but we tried in South Africa. We were in Bethlehem which was one of the last places for the 4-8-4's in 1977. I had ridden in the cab of 3405 the day before, and as we visited the engine shed for pictures, we scooped out some ashes from the ash pans of about 4 dead engines, put them in a small medicine size plastic bottle and marked the engine number on each one. I think my brother must have those. We also bought some engine number plates...those big brass ones that were on each side of the cabs...really nice.
Maybe someone should start a business of coal smoke perfume for railfans! Package it with videos and you have the experience.
Greg Scholl