About
“The Underground Railroad was a network of clandestine routes and safe houses which African slaves in the 19th century United States used to escape to free states, or as far north as Canada, with the aid of abolitionists. Other routes led to Mexico or overseas. It was a loose association of people, not a system of tracks.
Indeed, much of a typical flight to freedom involved many miles of walking, usually at night to avoid detection. At its height between 1810 and 1850, an estimated 30,000 to 100,000 people escaped enslavement via the Underground Railroad, though census figures only account for 6,000. The Underground Railroad has captured public imagination as a symbol of freedom, and it also figures prominently in African-American history.”
I’ve been a railfan for as long as I can remember, which is about age 5, but probably even longer than that…
I can clearly remember as a small boy in California in the early 1970’s watching ATSF mixed freights roll by our black GTO at grade crossings. My father and I played a game by counting cars as they passed and comparing totals after. There was always debate about whether the caboose should be included in the count. I also remember running from our apartment upon hearing the approaching horns to watch countless freights from our somewhat unstable rear deck.
My father presented me with a 4×8′ HO scale layout when I was about 8 years old. It was an elevated figure-8 with a single siding. The terrain was flat, with textures and roadways painted in latex. There were several pre-constructed plastic structures, scenic objects, figures and foliage. Dad made a good, if inexperienced, attempt at scenery with lichen and other natural resources. I had an ATSF warbonnet F-unit, several freight cars and a cupola caboose. I thought it was the greatest thing in the world, and it fed my appetite for trains for many years.
As a teenager, I made several attempts at HO layout building. Inexperience and (mostly) lack of funding always left me unsatisfied with the results, but I never grew tired of trying and learning. I had joined a local model railroad club at that time and relished opportunities to visit ‘real’ layouts and operating sessions. There was a local shop exclusive to model railroading where I became friends with the owner and spent all my free time.
Young adulthood was a very busy time for me, and I had no time for modeling. I continued my interest in trains during this period by becoming a collector of ‘Model Railroader,’ ’Trains’ and other railroad magazines and books. What little time could be devoted to my hobby was spent expanding my archive of contemporary and ‘antique’ publications; and of course, train watching. I studied the ‘Diesel Locomotive Spotter’s Guide’ religiously and frequently tested my knowledge on the BNSF Transcon in Arizona, where I lived at the time.
It was in Arizona that I took the opportunity to become a Division Manager for a BNSF contractor that provided crew shuttle services in several states. I thought it would be a dream job, but work kept me from home for weeks at a time. There were unhappy experiences between my corporate management position and union staff, and the railroad crews didn’t have the appreciative attitude or fondness for railroading that I had expected or hoped for. I quickly realized that railroading was a lot more fun as a hobby than a career and, fearing the loss of my passion, I quit. I do still miss being so close to the the trains, however.
Life eventually took me on a path to New England. I immediately found Maine to be a railroading culture-shock from the 120 train/day BNSF Transcon. It was at about this time that I discovered the world of V-scale modeling; railroad simulators. I began this new hobby as a Microsoft Train Simulator fanatic, and then changed to Auran Trainz to take advantage of the world-building and content creation possibilities. Ultimately this passion resulted in the creation of the Great American Underground Railway Co. (GAURC) website, forum, group and news blog.
As my professional and family lives advance, I find less and less time to devote to anything remotely related to my own entertainment. Much of my computer and Internet time is spread across equipment and locations that don’t belong to me. I have, for the most part, entertained my interests by searching the Internet for items of interest or curiosity that directly relate to railroading.
The Great American Underground Railway Company has for years been the title of my ficticious railroad, which has existed in HO scale and currently exists in V (virtual) scale. GAUX is the railroad’s reporting mark
The GAUX Dispatcher prototype railroad and railsim news blog represents the electronic wanderings of a long-time railfan, presented here for your enjoyment. There is no specific target audience, no mission statement or theme other than ‘railroad.’ I can’t promise that postings will appear on a regular schedule, or even guarantee that my posts will be of interest to anyone but me… but I hope they will.
I appreciate your readership, and I encourage your feedback in the form of comments to individual posts, or email messages directly to me. I hope you will check the site often, or you can subscribe to email notifications of new posts.
Thanks for visiting, and please come again.
RGoodell, Administrator
rgoodell@gaurc.us
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