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There ain’t no Sundays west of Omaha.

Terminal nostalgia aside, life in years gone by was not easy or fun most of the time. As much as anyone, I wish for a time when things were simpler and less complicated. But the truth is that if one...

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Temptation By Opportunity

  It is no secret that railroads interest me. Family connections to the profession guaranteed it. From a young age, that interest became a passion. Both in model form as well as full size. So much so,...

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The next Star Wars trilogy: Where dies story?

  That title came out of the blue but I think it pretty well describes my thoughts on what audiences can expect come episodes VII, VII and IX of the Star Wars franchise. At least, I hope I could be...

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The most desired of Disney guests

This may come as a shock to the Disney fan faithful, but they are not the most desired guests. Nor are the Annual Passholders. Be they Premium or Premiere. And not the members of D23 either. Denizens...

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John Carter, Kemosabee

  I could be wrong. In fact, I hope I am. But based on past performance, I tend to see a certain masked man bringing disappointment to the box office this summer. Let us be honest. The last time movie...

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Is it all over as we know it at the movies?

  Well to hear Steven Spielberg and George Lucas tell it, things are looking rather grim. There may some merit to the message, but it should not be news to anyone. For example, the traditional methods...

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Lest We Forget – Gettysburg

  150 years ago. In a small Pennsylvania crossroads. A place called Gettysburg. It neither sought fame or glory, yet both came there in early July of 1863. Over 57,000 men were listed as casualties...

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Communication, Transportation and Travelers

  You probably know the question already. “Why have we stopped?” The answer? Complicated. It is no surprise that the one area that travelers consistently rate lowest when it comes to satisfaction is...

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The inevitable price increase

Well, another summer of “sticker shock”… Yes, fellow Disney fans, that means the inevitable increase in the price of admission to theme parks. You can Google about it and find all kind of reasoning as...

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Upstairs, Downstairs – A Disneyland Conundrum

  Should you happen to find yourself in Anaheim, and visiting Disneyland, you might notice that for the most part, the second story of buildings are usually not open to the public. Earthquake...

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Too little time and so much to choose from

  So, what’s it going to be? Comicon in San Diego, Star Wars Weekends in Florida, D23 Expo in Anaheim or one of the other events that vie for your attention and more importantly, your disposable...

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The Ultimate Collectible?

  Somewhere online, someone recently posed the question as to what would be an idea of the ultimate collectible. Now considering that my interests are all over the proverbial map, this poses quite a...

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Adventure lies ahead!

  With luck, we won’t see this much snow on the ground in the high Sierra for a few months yet. However, time calls the private rail car Two Rivers and a whole lot more out on the road in late...

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Why is it so personal?

So, if you have been reading these pages for a while, you may get the idea that a lot of the content is centered around my own interests. That’s not a bad thing, but at times, especially at oh-dark...

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To the 2013 AAPRCO Train and Convention

  For the next few weeks, the Blue Parrot joins forces with Private Car Service to share with readers of this space a trip of a different kind. Each year, the American Association of Private Railroad...

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Why a private railroad car?

  A fair question. Why does one own a private railroad car? And to answer, for much the same reason one has a sports car, SUV, trailer, recreational vehicle, plane or boat. Because you want to. When it...

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Why a private railroad car? Part 2

  If you are of a certain age, the image seen above is one that you may recall as the private railroad car of an age gone by. The Wanderer, as the railway home of US Secret Service agents James West...

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My start in the world of Private Railcars

So today as I take a few moments before heading out the door to be off for Seattle, it seems a good time to share the tale of how I got into all of this. Genetically, actually. One of my great...

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On the move heading for Seattle

So, when I last left you, the Two Rivers and the Burrard were heading for Seattle on the rear of Amtrak’s Coast Starlight train. At Oakland, our cars along with the Federal were added to the train....

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Out in the Blogosphere

  From time to time, it gets interesting out in what I like to call the “Blogosphere”. You know, the world where folks step up to the Internet and spew forth. It is kind of the beauty of the thing....

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