This story out of West Virginia (where else?) is just the best.
I absolutely love it.
Here's more about Lane Friend, who was born to make trains great again:
Friend's mother Tricia Friend said if Lane isn't building something, he's sleeping. She described her 17-year-old son as an old soul in a teenager's body, saying he's calm, unassuming, very well-spoken and truly gifted in all things mechanical,
'New engines and internal combustion engines like on cars, everything is internal,' Friend said. 'You can't see anything work, you just know it does work. But on a steam engine you have all the valve linkage and it's all external, you can see and feel everything that's going on.'
(Here's an Instagram link to a video of the train in action.)
Friend graduated from Braxton County High School in 2024 and is working at Cass Scenic Railroad in Pocahontas County, which I firmly plan on visiting the next time I'm in West Virginia.
We should be investing in great Americans like this instead of importing cheap foreign labor. Change my mind!
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