Phantom Posted May 10, 2007 Share Posted May 10, 2007 See following. Thought y'all would find it interesting. Mary's Birthday Train Dallas Morning News article 4-19-07 Standard Header|Hide Pane John Rad ViewThursday, May 10, 2007 7:32:02 AM To:Ray Ayres ; greg@coventrywest.com; "Aungst; David J. (Dave)" ; carlsanne@aol.com; CASALINDA@PVNET.COM.MX; "Clark; Darrell" ; cshykes@martinsproket.com; darusso ... more Cc: file:///C|/DOCUME%7E1/JOHN/LOCALS%7E1/TEMP/nsmail-5.txt (1KB) Find: All aboard for birthday party pix did not run but fyi here is one http://www.railpict ures.net/ viewphoto. php?id=183971 12:00 AM CDT on Thursday, April 19, 2007 M ary Tomlinson , well-known throughout the Park Cities as one of the area's most beloved waitresses, wanted a horse for her 50th birthday. So her husband, John Radovich , came as close as he could and gave her 6,000 horsepower. On Sunday morning, more than 200 friends and family members gathered at the Age of Steam Museum at Fair Park and boarded a nearby train for a four-hour ride on "Mary's Birthday Train," consisting of two engines, a fuel car and eight passenger cars. A five-piece brass band, which called itself Mary's Birthday Band, played as people boarded. It was an interesting mix of kids, train buffs, Jaguar buffs, Mary's loyal customers from three restaurants, senior citizens and other friends and family members. The sign above the door said "Mary's." Her waitressing career began in 1980 when she went to work for Pat Snufferat his tiny new burger joint on Greenville Avenue, back when there was no back room. The current outdoor patio was the gas station next door. Over the next 21 years, Mary and Snuffer's developed a loyal clientele. Thirteen years ago, she left Snuffer's and joined Lola, The Restaurant (on Fairmont) as a waitress. She's still there today. And after seven years, she still works the lunch shift at St. Pete's Dancing Marlin in Deep Ellum. "I like waitressing even more now than I did back then," said Mary on her birthday train. "I can now step back and see the big picture. I enjoy the freedom, and I like taking care of my customers. I think I'm good at it. I'll talk to anyone, so I like what I do." Being married to a major train buff has always been a fun ride for her. John's hobby is collecting trains. Real ones! At his rail yard near Fair Park, John keeps his restored train cars on 2,600 feet of track that makes up his own train company, Dallas Terminal Railway . At that location, he makes his living repairing, restoring and converting vintage Jaguars at John's Cars . He has a strong customer base in the Park Cities and North Dallas. He has been at that address (800 Jaguar Lane) for more than 25 years. John has made classic Jaguars reliable, affordable and driveable for hundreds of North Texas customers over the years. John's passion for trains ("his obsession," says Mary with a smile) has taken the couple all across the U.S. All they have to do is hook their private rail car up to a train and enjoy the ride. His restoration of several passenger rail cars actually pays off when customers like the producers of the TV series Prison Break rent his train for filming. This past Sunday, while Mary served Lola's brisket and her famous cole slaw to 200 birthday party guests, they enjoyed riding the rails out past Lake Ray Hubbard and back to Fair Park. According to John, it was the first time a passenger train had traveled that freight line in more than 40 years. Word had gotten out over the Internet that a passenger train was coming down the line that day and more than 100 train buffs lined the route to take pictures. Or maybe they were more of Mary's customers wishing her a happy 50th. Kirk Dooley is a University Park writer. He can be reached at kirk@texmexbook.com . http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/city/parkcities/stories/DN-dooley_19met.ART.Central.Edition1.42daaf9.html -- John's Cars, Inc.800 Jaguar LaneDallas, TX 75226(214) 426-4100www.johnscars.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheNeedForZ Posted May 10, 2007 Share Posted May 10, 2007 I think it has been posted before... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom Posted May 10, 2007 Author Share Posted May 10, 2007 Not exactly - I posted the invitaion to the event a month or so ago so everyone would have an idea of John's true motivation. This is a follow-up with the newspaper article of the event. He's quite the local celebrity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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