Western Railroad Discussion > Boy at crossing, but that's no bike!

Last month I posted a thread showing a young boy on a bicycle in Rossville, KS with a UP train passing by in the background. Here is a link: ( https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?1,4505627,4505627#msg-4505627 ). This kid had his back to the scene, paying no attention whatsoever to the train. Another kid was walking up the sidewalk toward the train. But it was likely he was completely absorbed in his cell phone. Neither kid was the least bit interested in watching the train. One could get a sense that acclaimed American artist Norman Rockwell was rolling over in his grave.

In a concession to these modern times I may have stumbled across a possible solution to part of the equation. Check it out:

1. & 2. UP 6794 rolls east with coal loads next to a field that appears to have some irrigation in its near future.
 



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 04/08/18 09:07 by santafe199.

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3. I turned to get an 'away' shot of the consist. As I turn back...

4. ...this young Jefferson County farm(?) boy has pulled up next to me in a glorified golf cart. He had obviously seen me shooting pics, and was now intently watching the train pass by. In the smile on his face I could swear I saw the spark of a future railfan! Maybe now-a-days the average young American male needs something more extravagant than a mere bicycle to get him down to the crossing to watch a train??? (heh heh heh, I wonder ... ;^)

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5. & 6. UP 7086 tags along as the DP unit.
(6 photos taken March 14, 2018 in Williamstown, KS)

Thanks for looking!
Lance Garrels
santafe199

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Smart kid, he stopped back from the train instead of getting as close as possible like some folks. Looks like he also showed respect and stayed out of your photo until you took his picture. Maybe we aren’t doomed. 😁

OliveHeights Wrote: > ... he stopped back from the train instead of getting as close as possible ...

I really think he stopped next to me because he was interested in the fact I was shooting pics. As soon as the DP passed he moved up to the crossing. I wish I had taken an opportunity to chat a few words with him, and maybe plant a bit of a railfan seed in him...

Lance/199

The little town was always called "Billtown" by my dad, WAG2811 (Bill Gibson). wag216

santafe199 Wrote:
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> I wish I had taken an opportunity to
> chat a few words with him, and maybe plant a bit
> of a railfan seed in him...
>
> Lance/199

I think that seed has already sprouted.

bg

He is operating another common piece of industrial farm equipment perhaps out to do the chores.

I knew UP would figure out a way to get their locomotives washed, haha!
Thanks Lance. A great photo of the boy watching.

Bob Krieger
Cheyenne, WY