Don Owens wears a 'Conductor' pin and a 'Conrail Trainman' cap, greeting everyone who walks in to the Winter Train and Toy Show with a genuine "good morning!" With each family that passes by, he hopes to be greeting the next enthusiasts to preserve Western New York's railway history.
Owens grew up in Wisconsin, and found his love for trains when his dad introduced him to steam locomotives. For 20 years he has been greeting wide-eyed children and their families to the Show, seeing the same look in their eyes as he had when he was their age.
Owens hopes the next generation of train enthusiasts will continue the hard work of preserving railway history, something he says is vitally important to understanding transportation history in WNY.
