A Snap of Sunday Steam

My buddy Bobby ("It's Bobby...not Bob") texted me at 4:20 that the steam engine (the Pere Marquette 1225) was going to be passing by his house at 5:30. Last year, he texted me the same message, and the train showed up at 8:30, and all the daylight was gone.

But...not this year. The big engine showed up at about 5:50, and everyone was happy.

About the locomotive: It was built in Lima, Ohio in 1941 at a cost of 200 thousand dollars, and weighs 443,000 pounds. It ran the rails for 10 years, and then was put out to pasture. In 1957 it was acquired by Michigan State University, and was put on display on the campus. In 1971, a group of students at the U began an extensive restoring project, and in 1988 the engine was back on the rails. It now resides at the Steam Railroading Institute in Owosso, Michigan, and does special excursions.

An interesting sideline. As a young boy, Chris Van Allsburg went with his father to MSU football games, continually passing this engine. He claims this engine inspired him to write (and illustrate) the book Polar Express...which became a very popular movie. In fact, the engine provided the train sound effects for the movie.