Neil A. Plagens, Sr.

1934 gave birth to perhaps the world’s greatest rail fan! Neil Arno Plagens, SR., developed a love for trains as a child that progressed right thru to his passing day. He traveled to at least 40 countries, including Cuba, Russia, China, Switzerland, Norway, Italy, and many countries in Central America to discover and take pictures of the various railroads in their natural environment. His love of the scenery and color schemes of each railroad led him to thousands of pictures throughout his travels. He would literally chase trains across any terrain to get “just the right shot”! He belonged to several railroad dubs and had a number of traveling buddies who held the same interests as he did. He spent his “down time” reading over 8,000 railway magazines that he collected over 60 years. He also showed many slide shows of his travels and we enjoyed them. We were able to visit places thru his pictures that many will never see. Our dad lived to view the world thru his camera lens and we know he would be so