| In 1989, I met a fellow at a trade show in Washington DC. He was Head of Security for General Motors at McCook. When I looked at his business card, I told him, Wow! I am a rail fan! His grasp on my hand grew noticeably stronger, and he said to me, Finally, Ive got my hands on one of you He invited my wife and I to the September, 1989 Open House at McCook. Here we were, on Hallowed Ground! Mecca! The Chosen Land! 30 years earlier, as a teenager, I was riding on GMDs in Northern BC, never even dreaming that some day, I would enter the Temple! Thomas told me later that GM was blown away by the response that they got. Five times the crowd that they had estimated. And now, I wonder, What went wrong? By far, after FT 103, the most popular as gauged by the longest waiting line, was CN 5535, with her full length walk-through engine room to cab passage way. This sparkling new 3,800hp SD60F, was a hands-down winner with the crowd! |