Thursday, November 24, 2011

Of Genealogists and Railfans

Regular readers of this blog know my son is a railfan. He has been so in one way or another since he was 3. He knows which type of engine is coming by the sound of its horn. He can tell me which railroad belongs to which set of tracks and how many trains to expect there in a single day.

Railfanning is a lot like planning a genealogy research trip. There's equipment to be packed, maps consulted, a lot of time in the car. The end result could be success or a big zero.

Yesterday I took the railfan to Fort Bend County. For two hours we saw nothing.


Genealogists know what it feels like to find nothing. Sometimes you can make all the research plans and preparations in the world and find nothing.

Railfans, like genealogists, also know never to give up, because if you keep searching you just might hit the jackpot.


And sometimes, when it looks like your genealogy search is finished, you give it just one more try. One more search of the shelf or microfilm before you go.

Railfans have these crossroads, too. And when they decide to push forward, even when the clock is telling them to go home, they see that sometimes lightning strikes twice and their determination is worth it.


This railfan has found his life's passion and for that I am truly thankful. 


14 comments:

  1. What a nice post. Thank you for sharing your blessing! Happy Thanksgiving!

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  2. What a cool mom you are! That two hour wait must have been hard.

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  3. Amanda, it was a long day. We left at 8. Made it to Arcola at 9ish. We left there at 10:30 and drove to Richmond. We parked and waited there, too. We left Richmond at 1:15 and got home at 2:30. There was holiday and commuter traffic on the 59. Still worth it though because the kid earned this trip and we had a good time.

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  4. Have you railroad men in your genealogy? My daughters got 'em on both sides -- my husband's grandfather, and my grandfather and great-grandfather (and a few grand-uncles, too). I have some railroad reference books which I use to find out more about the world in which these ancestors functioned. One of the more fun related items I have is a couple of folk song books with old railroading songs in them. I like to get an idea of the music my ancestors might have played, sung, and listened to.

    Sounds like you had a fun time in spite of the waiting, but it was a good lesson in patience! I'm glad your son has such an absorbing hobby which is also deeply related to American history.

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  5. Awesome train! Your son has good sense and good taste!

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  6. You're a great mom and have a good kid there!

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  7. Actually, it was long, I felt like we were not going to catch any trains, than, BAM! Two trains in 30 minutes! Karen, no, I don't think we do, and Greta... I do?

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  8. What a great post! Glad the railfan got a wonderful treat!

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  9. Way to go Mom and railfan! It takes patience and discipline to stick to a passion despite long waits. Way to go! It was nice to meet the railfan in person when I was in Houston.

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  10. Oh, hey Joan, I didn't recognize you!

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  11. Enjoyed your post. How neat you have something you can enjoy with your son. :-) Mine is now 25 and I sure miss those days when we had things to do together...

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  12. Why is his hand in the air. And on another note that boy needs to eat he is skinny as a rail. Guess he doesn't have our family's fat gene. Lucky him.

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  13. Kona, his hand is in the air because he is waving to the engineer. And he eats. Trust me.

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