The "Years Pass So Quickly!" Story

It was an ordinary day. My friend Jerry and I were heading to the Lancaster Train Station to see how the renovations were coming along. Brought back many memories of the past. We had been there many times before! Often!! So ..... read on:

In 1951, at the age of 6, we met after school and decided to meet the next day, Saturday, at the train station to slide down the brass railing

that was in the huge entrance lobby and then head over to the Railway Express Office next door where Jerry's dad worked to get a Coke out of the machine. The Coke machine had a lid that was hinged and opened upward, and after putting your nickle in, you slid the bottle to the side and out of the machine. How cool was that?

In 1961, at the age of 16, we met after school and decided to meet the next day, Saturday, at the train station to play football in the field next to the Railway Express Station. Actually, we did this quite often in the fall. All the neighborhood guys showed up for the game.

In 1971, at the age of 26, we met after teaching a day of classes at school and decided to meet the next day, Saturday, at the train station with our kids so we could sit on the bench of platform #1 and watch the incoming and outgoing trains.

In 2001, at the age of 56, while Jerry and his wife Sue were visiting with us from State College, we decided we would head to the train station to take photos of all the buildings and surrounding area to help in Jerry's re-creation of the train station in his HO model railroad display.

In 2011, at the age of 66, I visited the train station to take photos of the catenary so I could email my results to Jerry to help in the next step on his train yard. Catenary are the overhead lines or overhead wires that are used to transmit electrical energy to trains at a distance from the energy supply point. And, Jerry is actually adding them to his train yard. He's a genuine model railroader from way, way, way back. I did mention we are 66, didn't I?

In 2011, we're still 66, we visited the train station again to see how the renovations were coming. The Lancaster Train Station is undergoing a very expensive updating to bring it back to the glory days that Jerry and I remember from back in 1951. They're trying to make it look like the State College version of the Lancaster Train Station.

In 2031, at the age of 86, we will probably be sitting on platform 1 at the train station, admiring the new solar train engines that are now in use, and wondering why we never visited the train staion before now.

It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. PS - If you haven't figured it out by now, the photo above was taken of Jerry's reproduction of the Lancaster Train Station and occupies the basement of his home in State College, PA.