The next generation?
Winter gives us time to reflect and ponder. This winter, I find my thoughts focusing on what comes next — who are the next readers of Classic Trains and where do they come from? For me, that’s an existential question. There is no shortage of enthusiasm for trains from the younger generation. (No, that doesn’t include me anymore.) I see them out photographing steam excursions each year. I see them flocking to the last of their kind signals: position lights, searchlights, and semaphores. And I see their photos on Instagram. But I don’t know how enthusiasm for the 261 or searchlights translates into an interest in the Milwaukee Road. I went to Colorado in 2015 for Trains’ 75th anniversary tours and came back a stronger fan of the state, and especially its narrow…