Jay Winn

I have always been intrigued by the power of words. In the course of my engineering and manufacturing career I was fortunate to have a mentor who taught me about the use of vocabulary and how the precise application of just the right word made a difference when expressing a particular thought. I especially appreciated it when a small selection of words came together to make a terse but potent thought. I often applied what I learned resulting in the creation of many what I felt were economic and effective sayings. I also appreciated and took note of sayings by others. Soon I began to amass a collection of these thoughts and sayings. While many are of my own creation, an equal number are the product of other people's wisdom. Those that I liked or identified with were either adopted or adapted. These little gems of wisdom can take many forms depending on the situation. They can be simply an observation about life, a bit of advice, a snappy comeback, a witty remark, a political comment or even an insult. What better way to share these little bits of wisdom than to put them down in a book. The thoughts that are not my own have not been attributed to any other author as they often appear credited to different sources and most have no source at all as they have simply become a part of our collective culture. The reader will note that often there are many variations on the same or similar themes. Each time I chose to apply one of these in a life situation, it often came out a little different depending on the particular application or whatever mood I was in. I have chosen to include nearly all variations. Since I wanted this book to be an interesting read and not simply a boring reference book, I have not categorized or grouped them by topic but listed them in a random fashion so that each one has the potential to be a surprise. Enjoy this collection of "Life's Wisdom". Jay Winn [email protected]

I was introduced to railroads at an early age, accompanying my grandfather on many trips to visit different railroad locations but most often in the Utica, NY area. So began a lifelong enthusiasm for railroads that has lasted nearly seven decades. During all of that time I continued to pursue my passion for railroads over much of the eastern U.S. but the majority of my time was still spent in the Utica area near my home. The purpose of this book is to simply recall and share my countless memories of pursuing trains in the greater Utica area. In an effort to provide some context and comparisons I have included what history I have learned, witnessed and even experienced concerning railroads in the area over the last nearly seven decades. I have tried to include pertinent definitions and brief explanations to enable those who have had limited exposure to railroad specific terms in an effort to make the stories more meaningful. This is not meant to be a comprehensive history of the railroads but merely a personal memoir. I have attempted to organize the information and events chronologically by decade but remembering exact dates can be problematic since so much of this was of course, decades ago. While I have made an attempt to fact check dates where possible some of the dating may still be a bit off. My extensive use of dating is not an attempt to nail down historically exact dates but merely a way of attempting to keep the chronology straight. The facts and incidents are as I remember them but often the exact dates can be a bit fuzzy and I am presenting the information for entertainment purposes based upon my understanding and personal memories. Hopefully the reader will find this book informative as well as entertaining. Jay Winn August 2021

I have been a serious railfan since the early 1960's and over the last 6 decades I have traveled to a lot of places and had numerous memorable experiences while following my passion for trains. This book is a collection of my railroading memories of Binghamton, NY and Altoona, PA that looks back to a time roughly 50 years ago. This book is all about the places, the incidents, the experiences and a little bit of history of the railroads themselves. These locales and the railroads populating them have changed dramatically in 50 years. While you could reasonably expect a wide variety of locomotive types from as many as 6 builders all those years ago, today the best you could hope for is the latest version of a small variety of look-alike locomotives from just two major builders. Then of course there are the changes to the railroad companies themselves. Dozens of railroad companies that were household names for decades disappeared almost overnight. And last but not least there are the two chosen towns which are the subjects of this book. Unlike many railroad towns of that era in which railroad activity has nearly disappeared completely, they have survived as railroad towns but they too are mere shadows of what they once were. Now let us go back a few decades and remember railroading at these two locations and fondly recall what it was like in those halcyon days of railfanning.

In 1964 fresh out of college with an Associate's Degree (AAS) I entered the engineering business as a Designer/draftsman for a small startup consulting engineering company. However, after getting an opportunity to do some field work, I was hooked and refocused my career in that direction. What started as a small consulting company grew over the years through merger and acquisitions into a large International design and construction management firm and I grew with them. I retired in 2003 as a partner and manager of the Industrial & Caretaker Business Unit. In the course of nearly forty years in the design construct business I had a myriad of experiences. Some funny, some surprising, some downright scary and all interesting. The purpose of this book is to chronicle and share many of these experiences. It is my hope that the reader will find them interesting and maybe even a bit educational.

The Delaware and Hudson Railway's brief love affair with a pair of old Baldwin "Sharknose" Diesels reads like a Fairy Tale. Purchased new by the New York Central in 1951, traded in to GE and left for dead in 1966, resurrected by the Monongahela Railway in 1967, sent once again to a scrapper in 1972, yet again saved from a scrapper in 1974, elevated to celebrity status by the Delaware & Hudson as the "Cinderella's in Silver & Blue" only to fall from grace in 1978, be sold off, used and abused finally to once again return to obscurity by the early 1980's. The remarkable longevity of these two old girls is the stuff of legend. Although much has been written about them over the years, (often by me), the complete story never seems to be all in one place. I had an enduring personal connection with the sharks from the very beginning of their resurrection by the D&H and actually witnessed much of their story. For that reason I have decided to write the complete story as I know it. Jay Winn 2017

This is the story of one man's obsession with historic railroad sound. How he got started, how he evolved and where he ended up. It is the story of a growing passion for historic preservation of a little known and rarely considered subject...Railroad sound. It is my story and I share it here for information and entertainment. Jay Winn 2017

This is an upgraded second edition of this book. it is a 60 year history of the the Delaware & Hudson Railroad at Oneonta, NY. The author was introduced to railroads through visiting the Oneonta yards and shops with his Grandfather in the 1950's. This fascination continued for 6 decades. This book records the author's personal experiences watching trains at Oneonta over the next 60 years. This story also chronicles the parallel history of the Delaware & Hudson railroad activities in Oneonta from its heyday in the steam era to its final demise as an important railroad center.

An anthology relating a number of personal railroad adventures. The author delves into his memory describing in detail incidents and adventures acquired during some 60 years as an ardent railfan.