For the past few years I have yearned to take some time off from work to indulge in what I called my mid-winter sabbatical. I would take some time to get off on my own, be it a week-long trip to Florida for some golf, or visit friends in Colorado. After all, this author suddenly found himself in his mid-fifties, the kids have left home, he has thirty years in with the ’company’, and it was time for some self-gratification. Each year I threatened, and each year the time passed, and suddenly it was May- yet another missed opportunity. Talk is cheap. Well, this year I decided to turn my threat into reality. I would venture ‘outside the envelope’ and I would take a Friday off for a two day trip to Steamtown. I had always wanted to see the Big Boy in person, and there was the Pennsy 1361 project, that proved to be enough motivation. I had heard much about all there is to see, and all that Steamtown had to offer to the rail enthusiast. OK, I was off to Scranton.

With map in hand and armed with the information that I had gathered from the Steamtown web site, it was up the PA turnpike- I was on my sabbatical!