Friday afternoon turned into an impromptu "snowbird steamup" at The SWAMP RR.
The Island Doctor, Dr. Abe Cohen of Long ISLAND, NY and Marco ISLAND, FL ran
his Daylight. Bob Cushman of Bedford, NH and Sanibel, FL operated his Forney
and Harry Quirk of Springtown, PA ran his 1970's vintage Aster French Mikado.
There is a world of difference between the highly detailed French Mike
(Boxpock wheels, much piping, etc.) and the recent Aster USRA light Mike.
I've never previously seen a locomotive of Harry's that did not perform
flawlessly, and this was no exception.
Harry's son is manager of The Bahia Mar Resort & Marina on Ft. Lauderdale
Beach, FL. He arranged a "comp" room for Harry and Carol at The Registry
Resort in Naples. I warned Harry that a tip of less than $20.00 per bag would
be sneered at. The dinner buffet was $31.00/plate plus gratuity. Harry and
Carol can now say that they spent the night under the same roof with a former
US President, George Bush and his family.
If you ever attend a steamup at The Swamp RR we cannot guarantee you will
share the roof with such famous persons, mainly because the Quirks only get
down here once a year. But if you will settle for less notoriety, former
presidents and equally prestigious persons are rather frequent here in the
winter.
Keep your steam up!
Mr. Lunkenheimer's associate
