I agree with both of you if that is possible. Yes, I can see where 1937 was not the best year, but then again, 2009 is far from the best either. I was born in 1943 and experienced railroading during the 60's that would get you arrested today, but was perfectly acceptable back then. I tried to comment about this on a thread on Trains.com, and the thread was locked after that -- hopping freights was NOT to be discussed -- period. I attened school at the Univ. Of Montana during the 60's and have logged a couple of thousand miles riding freights on both the NP and GN, mostly in box cars, but every once in a while I'd get invited into the cab or the caboose. Some of my pics have been published here, something that would not happen on Trains forum. I hope someone remembers the 3 NP geeps in run 8 with 12 cars and 2 cabooses climbing Lookout Pass in a blizzard -- then meeting MILW 263 with a couple of Little Joes near Saltese, MT. (I didn't send the MILW meet in -- maybe I will). It was a memorable ride -- caboose part way, box car part way. The crew waited for me in Wallace, ID for the trip back to Missoula. I'll never forget it. Possible now?? No way. Besides the branch having been abandoned for a long time, the simple act of riding like that would see me arrested now.

Nostalgia? Yes indeed. I have since retired and now live in Italy, and I feel sad for US railfans running afoul of the police. Witness the thread above about photo taking at LAUPT. That type of police state does not exist here, and I would bet that it does not exist in many other countries either. I will be returning to the US for a visit, but you can be sure that there will not be any railfanning trips anywhere for me. Those days are over. The good ole days for railfanning in the US are gone. Ever walk into a dispatcher's office and inquire about westbounds and get a nice answer? Ever have a conductor drop off the a yard goat to tell you which train to catch? Ever have a brakee climb out of a caboose and over a coupler to invite you inside?? Ever have an engineer invite you to ride the rear cab of an ABBA lashup of F-7's? That has all happened to me personally. I long for those days again. And yes, I have nostalgia. There are some things to have nostalgia for, and maybe, just maybe, the man pining about 1937 knows more about that era than we do now. Bravo for him.