Why this avatar?

It bears a striking resemblance to Chesapeake and Ohio 1309, which (hopefully) will be running on the Western Maryland scenic railroad very soon. This will be the largest steam engine running regularly scheduled routes, either in the entire country, or east of the Mississippi, depending on which source you believe. This specific engine was nonfunctional, displayed in a museum in Baltimore. It was purchased four years ago, and I believe about $2.6 million has been spent thus far on its restoration.

Interesting (and unfortunate) side note. The railroad runs from Cumberland to Frostburg, about 16 miles. The railroad has been very proud of having an operating round house turntable at the Frostburg terminus, literally the engine disconnects from the train, pulls on to this, is rotated 180°, pulls off on another track so it can couple to the other end of the train for the return trip.

This engine is apparently too large for the turntable.

So there is way more than you ever wanted to know about my avatar.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chesapeake_and_Ohio_1309

https://www.times-news.com/news/loc...ac2baec-b77f-565b-9a3a-e4c73a6e30d9.html

Gene

Gene Nallin MD solo family practice with one PA Cumberland, Md