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I will be 58 in about a week (Jan. 27th) and I have many fond memories
of the sight and sounds of the steam engines of years past.  Here in West
Virginia coal has been a major part of our economy and railroads were,
and perhaps still are, a primary means of transporting coal.  My father was
born and grew up in the Eastern Panhandle of WV in the late 1800's and early
1900's.  Steam engines and the loads they pulled were a great source of
entertainment and conversation for many folks of that era and location.
The Mallets that hauled enormous loads over the mountains near Dad's home
were his favorites.

I remember going to the train station with Dad in the early 1950's and
watching the steamers as they pulled into and away from the depot. I
was both thrilled and frightened by their size and sound. I still think
that no other machine on Earth exemplifies power and brute force as vividly as
a steam locomotive.

I can recall listening to distant steam whistles as I lay in bed at
night and thinking about the far away places those trains might be going.

In 1951 when I was 7, my mother and I traveled by rail to California to
visit with my sister. The trip took 3 days and 3 nights.  On that trip,
diesel locomotives were used about 50% of the time to pull our train. I
didn't care much for the diesels then.  I'm still not crazy about them.
They just loomed out there in front of the train as we moved along. Not
very interesting.  On the other hand, the steam locomotives were far more
animated and entertaining.  I was fascinated by the way they belched
smoke and steam from their stacks.  I could watch the valve linkage and side
rods work and see the big driver wheels turning.   It was a good lesson in
the mechanics of a machine.  Even for a boy of 7.

Being that Dad and I both were imprinted by steam engines at an early
age, naturally he got an electric train for himself when he thought I was
old enough to have one... A new American Flyer 290 passenger set was
delivered by Santa on Christmas morning, 1950.  We set it up around the Christmas
tree and played with it the rest of the day and throughout the Holiday
Season. The 290 set became as much a part of Christmas traditions as a
Christmas tree.

The last steam engine I saw in service was in 1959. I was 15 then.  A
Norfolk & Western class J steamed past us as we waited at a crossing
near Roanoke, VA. I waved at the engineer and he replied with a blast of the
whistle and a smile.  I guess that was a good one to end it with.  What
a beautiful machine that was.

Of course the days of steam engines hauling long lines of freight, coal
and passenger cars are long gone but the memory of them will always remain
with me.  So will the old Flyer 290 set.  It will always hold a place of
honor under our Christmas tree.  I have added quite a few more S gauge
locomotives to the collection over the years.  They're all steam engines.  I still
like watching the valve linkage, side rods and big drivers move.