Sunday, May 14, 2006

Railroad Warrior

For the second time in as many weeks, I've been driving like a madman. Not in terms of speed, but distance.
Yesterday at 6:45am I left for Wheeling, WV to pick up a donation of railroad documents from the B&O RR's Benwood Roundhouse. The forecast was for afternoon thunderstorms, so I was hoping to make it out and back before things got really hairy.
I took I-70 West to I-68 West to Morgantown, WV. Stopping there at 9:30am for breakfast and to refuel the truck I was in. Left Morgantown at 10:00am on I-79 North to Washington, PA where I got back on I-70 West and took that into Wheeling, arriving at 11:30am.
So in Wheeling I meet up with a local B&ORRHS member who met us at the woman's house and we caravaned to the place where the records were stored in McMechen, WV. We picked them up, I took the member back to his truck, we socialized, I saw a neat train layout under construction and then at 2:30pm, I left for the return trip.
I stopped in Cumberland, MD at 5:00pm for dinner and gas. (Note: the gas station I used did not require one to pay before pumping. That surprised me. It was under $3 a gallon out there, that did not surprise me.)
After Cumberland I went to Baltimore, MD to unload. I called people back who left messages for the HS and finally got back on the road home at 9:20pm. I got back to home around 10:30pm. A total of 16 hours on this trip.
Some would say I'm crazy to have done that, at times I was inclined to believe them, but it was a good trip.

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