Steam & Excursion > NYC Dreyfuss Hudson at the 1939 New York World's Fair

I wish I could be that guy!

John Meixel
Longmont, CO

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meixel Wrote:
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> I wish I could be that guy!

My all-time favorite steam engine......and I grew up with Daylight 4-8-4s over the back fence.   I have O-scale models of NYC 5452 as well as  PRR T-1 6110.  They never run,  I just look at them in my office.  I also have a G-scale SP GS4 in here too,  but that Central Hudson is perfect in my opinion.

Yep, just about perfect!

Posted from Android

Looks like Billy Graham ? wag216

wag216 Wrote:
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> Looks like Billy Graham ? wag216

Looks more like a very young Hal Lewis to me.   And Hal, actually fired some Hudsons on the Riley out of Lafayette while he was in college I believe! Is he still around?  Several years ago he lived in San Jose.
Greg

I think I heard that Hal passed away not too long ago.

Victor A. Baird
http://www.erstwhilepublications.com

gregscholl Wrote:
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> Looks more like a very young Hal Lewis to me.  
> And Hal, actually fired some Hudsons on the Riley
> out of Lafayette while he was in college I
> believe! Is he still around?  Several years ago
> he lived in San Jose.
> Greg

Hal Lewis did pass away 4 years ago. 

He fired locomotives on both the NYC and the Nickle Plate while he was an engineering student at Purdue University in the 1950's.  He published stories about his experiences in both Railfan & Railroad and Classic Trains in later years.

As I'm sure many of you remember, he was very well known and active in the west coast railfan community, including organizing steam trips.
 

Elesco Wrote:
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> Hal Lewis did pass away 4 years ago. 
>
> He fired locomotives on both the NYC and the
> Nickle Plate while he was an engineering student
> at Purdue University in the 1950's.  He published
> stories about his experiences in both Railfan &
> Railroad and Classic Trains in later years.
>
> As I'm sure many of you remember, he was very well
> known and active in the west coast railfan
> community, including organizing steam trips.

Hal and I had many, MANY conversations about steam locomotives, over the years, by phone, and in person, on many of the UP steam operations with the Pacific Limited organization. He was a good friend, and REALLY nice guy. I still miss him.

He also made a trip to Canada during the steam days, and made some sound recordings there and other places in the U.S.  I remember seeing him on Iron Hill while doing the 1522 on the NRHS trip to Newburg in 1990.  Then later that year saw him in Yakima during the 4449 and 700 Washington SteamFest trips.  He and another guy had a company for awhile sell train audio cassettes.  I still have a few he gave me to use if I wanted to.  It was L&H Railsonics.  Yes he was a nice guy!
Greg

Omar Sharif
 

Yes, Hal made recordings with Lee Bojon.   Is Lee still around?

A brief bio and a photo of Hal:

http://rlhs.org/Awards/Lewis.shtml
 

Thanks everyone for identifying Hal!  Once I'm done with the negative I'll send it to the NYCHS.  I've already contacted tham

John Meixel
Longmont, CO

If this photo is at the 1939 Worlds Fair, based on Mr. Lewis' bio he would have been 8 years old.   So this can't be him.

Oh well, the mystery continues.

John Meixel
Longmont, CO

norm1153 Wrote:
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> Omar Sharif
>  

Does kinda look like him, doesn't it? But he was 7 at the time....

Cheers, Dave

I think it kind of looks like Raymond Loewy. He would have been 46 in 1939.

Victor A. Baird
http://www.erstwhilepublications.com



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/03/20 17:56 by wabash2800.

wabash2800 Wrote:
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> I think it kind of looks like Ramond Loewy. He
> would have been 46 in 1939.

Maybe, but it's doubtful Loewy would have taken a seat in a locomotive styled by an arch-rival.

I think it might be famed jazz musician and band leader Cab Calloway. The date would be right: in 1939, Calloway was one of the top jazz musicians, and was regularly playing famed venues like the Cotton Club in New York City, as well as traveling on tour and doing radio broadcasts. The jacket on the fellow on the cab looks a lot in style like one of Calloway's famed "zoot suits". Posing for a publicity photo like this would be entirely customary for someone like him who was a major entertainment presence in the day. Also, I recall having heard somewhere along the way that Calloway was something of a railfan.

That said, he does indeed look a lot like Hal Lewis, whom I got to know through the NRHS national convention committee. Always a delight to meet and work with. Went to dinner with him in San Jose once, and had a memorable evening. He was a great conversationalist, and just all around wonderful person.

MC
Muskegon, Michigan

Cab in the Cab?

Cheers, Dave