.....SP Index

get over it

new 12-14-24These two sad photos of Southern Pacific steam engines in the last stages of being picked clean by figurative vultures were forwarded by a contributor (who shall remain nameless for his own personal safety) with the following admonition, 'Get over it!'

While his words lack any element of sensitivity, he does have a point: Seventy years hence, it is time to dry our tears over steam's demise and move on. Especially for the old geezers (which includes Wx4 Staff) in our crowd, such ongoing lamentations are exceedingly unhealthy - to the extent that Staff suspects that some of our numbers have bought the great big one not due to advanced old age so much as to the long-accumulated effects of, well, whining over the loss of their precious steamers..

So please stop, just STOP, beating yourself up with steam-related psychological stress. Perhaps it might therapeutic to recall that a fair number of SP steam locos survived the general liquidation, including at least one each of the wheel arrangements seen here. It also might help moderating your angst by embracing the fact that many diesel types have not fared nearly as well, especially Staff's beloved Alco DL-109's and Baldwin Centipedes. These totally disappeared in the Sixties without a trace, for Pete's sake! Ater all, at least you steam lovers still have a few extant beasts to slobber over. But what about Staff 's sorrow over its favored diesels? We opine that your mental and physical health would significantly improve should you stop thinking about yourselves and worry more about what a horrible time Staff is going through. Thanks for your attention.