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The Crew and cruise
Seventy-two year old John Ditmer was the engineer for this particular run. While he laughingly referred to himself as “tired and retired” Ditmer has been a volunteer since 1992 and loves every minute of it. He also never tires of the usual stares that he gets. “Most people would rather see it than wear it but I absolutely love it,” said Ditmer with a broad grin about the brilliant royal blue tattoos that adorn his face and hands.
Rappahannock resident and owner of Caledonia Farms, Phil Irwin, has been making the trelT'to Walkersville for years. His duties as a fireman have him riding in the caboose providing an extra set of eyes and ears for the engineer. Irwin will go to the rear of the train and provide communication to the engineer about conditions encountered as the train rolls along. For those of you who don’t know, Irwin is a model train enthusiast. Over the years, he’s meticulously constructed a labyrinth of model trains even carving a tunnel through one of the stone walls in his train room.
If you want the best view of the scenery, take a seat on the ride side of the train. You can choose to sit in one of the remodeled passenger cars, the caboose or the open-air excursion car which provides plenty of opportunity for leaning over the side, waving at the engineer or fireman and letting the wind whip through your hair.
Sit back and eqjoy the view of Maryland farmland, cornfields and the distant view of the Catoctin Mountains west of Frederick. Note the old telegraph poles that still stand now denud
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