1977: A Madman Turns 40: 2017- Day 7

   Today marks what would have been my dad's birthday. He would have been 62. Things weren't always the greatest between us and I don't really want to get into that. In fact, my year-long journey of turning 40 is supposed to be positive and fun not doom and gloomy. Nevertheless, reast assured before he passed we had pretty much patched things up.

A B&O engine from 1955, the year my dad was born.

    I tried to find some great stuff on things like where my dad went to high school or the neighborhood he lived in as a child. But in 1977, he was already in college and lived with my mom in some apartment complex that I do not remember the name of, nor to I think it still exists.

The reach of the B&O rail system circa 1977.

     So how best to honor my dad with today's article? And then it hit me! Trains. No, I didn't actually get hit by a train. It's just that for some strange reason my dad and his brothers and at least one of his cousins are huge train lovers or railfans, trains buffs, or as I remember my father calling himself, a railway enthusiast. 

    My dad's favorite train line was the B&O railroad. That stands for Baltimore and Ohio. If it sounds familiar, that' because the B&O is one of the railroads you can purchase in Monopoly. I'm not sure why it's his favorite but I know that my dad was obsessed with all things Baltimore as his favorite cousin Bobby lived in that metropolitan area for a very long time. Plus, he was a huge Orioles fan! 

A Chessie train rides a snowy rail.
Ohio, 1977.

     Another train that my dad was a big fan of was the Chesapeake & Ohio or Chessie for short. I thought it might be because it was my mom's favorite why he liked it so much (the train had a giant cat on it and my mom was a serious cat person. One very rare thing I take after her with.) But upon doing research for today's article I learned that in 1987, B&O, suffering some major financial problems was absorbed by Chesapeake & Ohio. Eventually, the line became CSX, another favorite train line of my dad's. 

    Man, I'm learning so much about him and his love of trains and it's been almost 3 years since he passed. 

A 7619-cs-b&o model engine. Completed in February, 1977
it still operates today.

    Well, that's my trip down memory lane for the day. Come back tomorrow for another look at 1977 as a Madman Turns 40.