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Oral History Interview with John McGowen
Audio from Oral History Interview conducted on March 1, 1996.
Transcript of Audio
Nancy: How did you get involved in all of this?
John: I was always interested in trains. I had Lionel Trains when I was a child. I had them up until I went into the service during World War I.
Nancy: Now where would you get these trains?
John: They were bought for me. The Lionel Trains were bought for me. They were my big present. I would maybe get maybe a car or another piece of equipment every Christmas or my birthday, that’s the way these things developed alright and I had a quite expensive collection until they were sold out from underneath me, but I was unassuming.
Nancy: What was it about the stations that inspired you?
John: They were different, they were different than other stations in other parts of the country, they had their own flavor and style in them architecturally. You don’t see too many raised platforms where the platform is even, walk right from the platform to the train; on other trains you used to need to climb up stairs to get into the train. You didn’t have to on Long Island. You would walk on the platform right into the train. I love the stations. I have a feel for them.