From one of my Train buddies at church… Interesting ride and then he got to visit T&P 610. Paul From: kevin@kevingourley.com [mailto:kevin@kevingourley.com] Our family rode on the Texas State Railroad from Palestine to Rusk yesterday. It was a beautiful day for the trip. The only problem was the severe storm that hit Friday night. The storm downed MANY trees over the tracks. Our train had to stop 28 times, for them to cut downed trees with a chain saw and remove them from the track. There would have been even more stops, but at least there was a train also going from Rusk to Palestine so the 2nd half of the trip was cleared by the other train. What it meant to us was an extended time on the train. Normally it’s about 3 hours of train travel. Our train travel was almost 7 and half hours. The highlight of the trip, for me though was that they let me go into the shed, and stored all the way in the back was the T&P 610. It is not on public display right now. When I was a teen, I watched that engine be restored for pulling the Bicentennial Freedom Train. I spent many hours there as a teen, along with my dad, because we knew the guy who was rebuilding it. This weekend was my first time to see that engine in almost 40 years. It was really a special moment for me. I have always felt a special connection to that engine because of my teen experience with it. In fact their historical society liked my story so they are going to post a photo of me with it on their website (ha!). Kevin Gourley |