Milepost 678
During the recent cold spell and a cold spell of my own (no flu but still felt pretty crummy), I got a bad case of cabin fever and so my wife & I just had to get out of the house for a while. The weather was a "little warmer" in that it had gotten up into the mid 20s so we just went for a drive. We ended up in North Baltimore on the south side of the railroad tracks in a parking lot just west of Main Street. We've been to North Baltimore previously but I really never stopped to take a look at the mural painted on the wall there on the north side of the CSX railroad tracks.
The mural was painted by nationally known mural artist Stephen Muldoon. He currently resides in Florida, but is a native Ohioan. The main theme of the mural is of course, the railroad that runs right through the middle of town. The mural presents a west bound Baltimore & Ohio steam engine with freight train in tow passing the station right downtown. While the steam engines have long been gone from the tracks in town, the station still stands and is still being used by CSX maintenance crews. There are also four other images of life in yesteryear North Baltimore added in a casual, photograph way.
For more on the mural, visit: http://nbnewsxpress.com/viewnews.php?newsid=5906&id=1 for the full story. There is a copy of the painting hanging in the Whistle Stop Inn right across the street. So if you are in the area, have a drive by and check out the mural. Better yet, check out the mural then go to the Whistle Stop for lunch or dinner and you can see that same mural plus those photos taken by your favorite model railroad blogger. :)
dlm
PS. I'm accepting birthday wishes as I'll be turning the bigh 6-0 tomorrow (Feb. 9)!
Happy Birthday Dan. Hope you enjoy the day and relax with family and friends. Remember you are only as young as you feel. It seems that you are enjoying your retirement! Hope you celebrate many, many more!! Also keep up the great modeling. Thanks!!
Barry #2631
Posted by: Barry W. Kita | February 09, 2013 at 11:00 AM