Vega wagons are not great for chasing trains, especially off road. In the early 80's it was not unusual for me to take my little Vega wagon and go on train trips. Typically it would be with one of my then young sons and a fellow foamer like Brian Rutherford, Paul Ogren, Kyle Brehm or, most of all, my friend Ken Compton.

On one of these trips we went out chasisng the Eagle Mountain Railway. I was driving the Vega south out of Desert Center, chasing the train on its run to Ferrum on a dirt road and mistook a wash for a road. I learned early on with the Vega to be true and keep going. So I tried to power out of the wash and ended up burying the Chevy to its frame.

We stopped the train on it's return trip and the good natured crew told us this was not the first time this had happend. They radio'd ahead and AAA was called; but it was a county truck that wenched us out. AAA would not go off the concrete.

The little guy in the photo giving directions is my son Jeff. He's now in his 30s with kids of his own.

Thank you Ken for the photo!

~Steve Sloan
San Jose, CA