In 1850, a 15 year old boy from London arrived in New York City with $10 in his pocket. He found a position as “pot walloper” or dishwasher at an upscale restaurant and began a lifelong passion with fine dining. From this inauspicious beginning, Fred Harvey would change the way people West of the Mississippi dined, create a marketing tool…
Tag: Railroad
The Big Four
Collis Huntington, Leland Stanford, Charles Crocker and Mark Hopkins, better known to history as the “Big Four,” were instrumental in building the Central Pacific Railroad and developing California’s railroad system in the years between 1861 and 1900. Of modest origins, all were born or had lived in upstate New York prior to being drawn West by the Gold Rush. Huntington…
5 Top Model Train Accessories
Many people’s first introduction to model railroading is with a simple circle or oval on a sheet of plywood. No scenery, no landscaping and maybe not even any buildings or vehicles. It doesn’t take long, however, to get the urge to start adding accessories to the railroad to make it more realistic. For many people, this become a lifelong endeavor,…
Pocket Watches Standing The Test Of Time
A silver pocket watch is something other pieces of jewelry are not: it is timeless. Pocket watches are the very epitome of elegance. They exude quiet wealth and charm, and give their bearer distinction. Pocket watches are personal timepieces that can be carried around in one’s pocket. They are strapless, and they sport traditionally analog displays. Though not always a…
The Underground Railroad
Sometimes when a people are under their most oppression, that is when they truly are at their best it seems. And that adage could certainly be applied to those who operated the Underground Railroad in the 19th century while slavery was still the law of the land in America. The Underground Railroad was a means by which literally tens of…
An Introduction To Garden Railroads
A popular trend in model railroading is using equipment and accessories that are rugged enough to stand up to the weather to build outdoor railroad layouts. The term “garden railroads” stems from the fact that these outdoor layouts are often integrated into a garden, with the garden providing part or all of the scenery and landscaping. The basic structure and…
White Pass And Yukon Route To The Klondike Gold Rush
When my wife and I recently stepped off a cruise ship in Skagway Alaska, we were excited to be revisiting some her family’s history. In 1897 her grandfather Jim and her great uncle Albert, joined almost 100,000 gold-rush prospectors who were going to the Klondike to search for gold. They were among the 30,000 or so prospectors who actually reached…