Classified top secret

In the L.A. Times, "Jumble" (that scrambled word game) appears on Page 3 of the classified section. So today while eating my lunch, once I discovered what being laid back at work can lead to (being laid off), I scanned Page 3, and something under the category of "Miscellaneous Merchandise" caught my eye. Someone was selling a steam locomotive, fully operational, FRA certified, with a 2-6-0 wheel configuration, for $1 million.

Now, is the Los Angeles Times classified section really the best place to sell your million-dollar piece of railroad equipment? Sure, it's one of the highest-circulation newspapers in the country, and there are a lot of rich people and well-funded corporations in the greater Los Angeles area, but how many of them or their representatives are reading Page 3 of the classified section? This wasn't even a display ad, just a regular agate-type classified, although it did have a bold headline.

If I'm ever in the position of having to sell a steam locomotive for $1 million or more, I'm going straight to the advertising departments of magazines such as Trains. Actually, if I'm ever in the position of having to sell a steam locomotive for $1 million or more, I'm buying commercial time during "Friends" or something. ("Tonight's Must-See TV Thursday lineup is brought to you in part by...Jim Ellwanger's steam locomotive!")