Thanks to scanner technology, I am able to share documentation showing the start of my serious interest in the Union Pacific and in railroading as a lifetime hobby. In the summer of 1951, I wanted to paint my American Flyer GP7 in UP colors, so I wrote to the headquarters in Omaha to ask about the correct colors to use. I had already worked at the hobby shop in Kearney for a year; that is the address you'll see on the July 31, 1951 letter (shown below) which came in reply from the UP. In that generous response to my inquiry, the gentleman enclosed the other items you will see here.

The builder photo of this ALCO RS 1500 hp switcher was included, probably to show the color scheme, though it is a black-and-white photo.

This is a promotional "postcard" of the F3 commonly produced by EMD for their customers. It shows the color scheme and then, on the backside, the specific engineering details concerning the locomotive model.

This builder photo has long been a favorite of mine. #841 was built in December of 1944, and I probably saw it roll through Kearney many times in my lifetime. I have the photo framed and hanging over my desk at home. When I retired from my career at New Trier HS in 1993, I bought my own retirement gift — an Overland model of a UP Northern — and had it numbered for the 841. It is extremely unforgiving of uneven trackwork, but I hope to install a sound decoder in this beautiful model so that it can run on the K&BH through Kearney once again. An imagination is a wonderful thing!

Thanks to a generous and thoughtful UP employee, these items are treasured by this railfan/modeler more than 50 years later. They are never far from my view. Here is his original letter: