My Dreams/Goals:
Job/Career: To be an officer on the executive board (or maybe a VP) for a class 1 railroad. Shy of that, I'd like to work for the railroad in the business offices (maybe marketing, if any of those companies even have one of those departments anymore
). I'd also like to see each and every one of the Class 1s capitalize more on carload freight, after first adding the capacity to their systems to handle the stuff more efficiently (to a certain extent- to go after all carload freight would probably reduce profits, but to go after a certain amount of carload and, even, new shippers, should increase profitability to a certain extent...in theory).
Vehicle wise- I'd like to [someday] own a [Ford] F-350, with the extended? cab and the extended/full bed...and probably an older 1500/150 series truck(from the any of the Big Three- Ford, GM or DMC) as well (for the little things
)...as well as a cargo van (mini or full size, not sure yet) to haul stuff that is sensitive to the weather...and probably because my first car was an Astro van, I'd almost prefer to have another one of those or a truck as my primary car. On a realistic scale, I'd like to buy either one of those cars that gets 50 miles to the gallon or a 4x4 that's extremely fuel efficient (I know, that's pretty much an oxymoron at present, but then again, I'm not gonna be in the auto market for at least another couple years anyway).
Model Railroading: To build a "complete" model railroad, or at least complete one to the point of basic scenery, in an environment where it's not gonna get banged up all that much. My current (and best so far) layout gets in the way of my head and shoulders, being mounted on the wall in my bedroom. I'd like to have a room devoted to the trains, and be able to fill that room with the layout that features my favorite industries and trains [so, probably set in the country and outskirts of the cities, featuring agricultural activity and other industrial activity typical of the country (auto parts suppliers, warehouses, etc.) ]. I'd also like to someday build an O scale layout (2 or 3 rail or both...haven't decided yet) that is detailed- moreso than is possible in either HO or N scales...not a Lionel Hi-rail layout with a bunch of Lionel stamped buildings...rather a highly detailed model railroad that just happens to also be O scale.
One other long-term modelrailroad goal I have is to join the NMRA (money is enough of a concern to be a prevention at the present, plus lack of NMRA groups within a reasonable distance of me either at school or at home). I've seen something of their Master Model Railroader program and from what I've seen, its something I'd like to pursue, given the time, energy and resources to do so.
One other (long-term, but not THAT long-term) goal would be to develop my photography skills to the point at which I feel comfortable entering a photography contest (like the Trains Mag. one) and not feel like I was wasting the judges time. More of a personal goal than anything, but unlike most of the other stuff in this post, easier to achieve...
and a wife.
