Oh, you know what I mean… the all important Firsts![8D]
Your first 'real" engine you bought. The first layout you built… The first time you ran your train all the way around your layout. Maybe your first scratchbuilt box car, or power. Well, tonight, I had a very specail First.
A little histroy…
2 years ago I fell into the hobby and havent looked back. It started as way for me to bond with my,( at the time) girlfreind’s 3 yearold son when we moved into together. I brought home my old train stuff when I was kid. But, I found it was relaxing hobby and it was what I needed. I went head deep. Tyco’s now replaced with Kato and Atlas. Transformers with DCC.
Since then, I have grown leaps and bonds with the whole train thing. And right along side, has been my “new” son. He grown up now with me and “dad’s trains”
Well last year, was a big step as I would sometimes gave him a controller and let him run a train. I had a 2 track man with separte DC power packs. We sit out in the garage and run them around, pretend we were raceing, or giving Batman a ride in the gondola. And since then, he would come in the gagarge every now and then, and we “run some trains”. As time as went on, he has gotten bigger… well so did the layout.
Well tonight, was the first time we actually, Operated. Just likes the big boys do, I told him. He is now 5 and now knows some letters and numbers. Which is all he needs to know to operate a cab. (I now have DCC with 2 cabs). I had him run the 'big train" around, like usual. But then, I had him stop the train, and back it up and pull it foward as I cut cars out with my local switcher in an industrail area I have on my layout. He learned tonight the F key is foward, and the R is reverse. He now knows we go slow, “just like the real ones do.” He worked the AC4400 with 18 cars on it and pulled back and forth as I cut out 3 cars. And, honestly, it went pretty smoothly[:D]. He was so
Hello canazar. I’m not a dad, but I can appreciate and enjoy (even envy at times) a bonding story like yours. Those are the wonderful times that that little fellow will have to remember when he looks back in years to come, and will hopefully go on to be one of the future model railroaders that will keep this wonderful hobby of ours going and pass it on to his son after we’re all gone.
John,
I think this is so neat and yea this is what it’s all about. My sons are grown and moved, grandsons live to far or are to old, but the new Great Grandson, as of Thursday, lives close, so I better start laying some track . I’m glad for you,
Bob
That’s really touching, that your youngster picked up on the operating ideas so fast! Neither of my (now adult) sons expressed any interest in my modules, nor did our grandson (also now grown up - 19).
A friend has a grandson who operated like yours does. He would get somewhat annoyed at our train shows when the Lionel guys were running thier trains too fast! Sadly he’s grown quite a bit and I think he’s discovered girls (I think he’s now 11) and may have ougrown his grandads’ trains.
Cherish every moment with your son, they grow up so fast!
Hi canazar
That must make it time for the young lads first Train if he has not already got one
get him a good reliable locomotive and a couple of items of roling stock that he can call his own
and you can share even more joy with him.
Thats my thoughts
because nothing beats the look on a childs face when he or she has a train of thier own.
regards John
That is SO cool! Thanks for sharing the story. I wish I had a son to share MRRing with.
Right now we have a couple of “adopted” nephews visiting. One of them, Daniel, is 13 and an absolute nut about trains. I gave Daniel a chance to run the layout the other day on his own, using DCC for the first time. [tup] Daniel is now convinced that DCC is the way to go and there’s no turnin’ back…
John, thanks again for sharing that wonderful story with all of us. [^]
‘Operating’ with your son is interesting. When he was 5, I gave him an old gondola; that was his ‘dirt car’ and he ran that all over my layout. When he was 8, he was running the cab control very well, and impressed a lot of folks during an ‘open house’ for a regional convention. In 1997, I took him along to an NMRA national convention and he sort of made pest of himself at the Digitrax booth - they put him to ‘work’ over the next seveal conventions. It was interesting to see 50 year old men listening to a 14 year old explain how to use a DCC system!
He is now 21, and has been more interested in ‘cars & girls’ for the past few years. He was home the past weekend, and I found him ‘playing’ with the railroad - I guess you never get it out of your system.
Actually, you read my next thoughts. I have been planning on taking him to the LTS (local trainstore) and letting him pick his own car. He has been asking since everything is “dad’s” and has to be careful since things could break. Also, he doesnt know it, but I am pretty sure Santa’s going to bring him his own engine. I have looked at a couple of the inexspenisive Bachmann DCC equppied engines. Figured they would be a good one for him.
And yes, as some of you mentioned, it is going by quickly. It seems like last month we were diggin those old Tycos out of the box and running them for the first time on the floor with a bunch of old Atlas track and bad railjoiners. Now, I got a huge layout in the gagrage and kid who is walking talking and knows how to work the TV remote better than me.
I dont know if he will stay with the train bug for ever, but I figure I got him atleast for another 3 or 4 years. And yes, I will enjoy every second of it, becasue it will be over too soon… Glad you guys enjoyed the story, Thanks for the comments.[:D]
Very happy to read your story, John. Thanks for sharing it.
I don’t have a son, and my daughters left home before I got back into trains. However, When I retired, I moved closer to my sister. I have had the great fortune to look after my nephew on occasion, and he LLOOOOVES running my trains. Sometimes I think You Know Who made me an instrument for that boy; he suffers from ADHD.
If you notice the train my son is running it’s a Spectrum 2-8-0. He had that train for a couple months with very little interest in running it. It was when I added sound that he got involved. You may not need that, but my kid loves the horns and bells. (I’m kinda partial to them too.)
Hey, if you think you are going to have some great memories, you are right. But I would be willing to bet your “son” is going to have even better ones. Some of my fondest memories are of those times when I was a kid, that adults, like my Dad, Uncles and family friends, took the time to include me in their activities. Enjoy every minute…
Tom
Your thought of getting him his own car to run struck a memory cords. Way back when, Model Railroader had an article written by a guy that would get his son a piece of rolling stock every now and then. It was “his” car. It was a way cool article. My dad used to do the same with me. I can’t tell you how much those cars mean to me now. Some folks might call them “junk Tyco” cars - but to me they are priceless.
That is one of the things I hope to do when I am a father, whenever that may be…Share the joys of model railroading with my son, or daughter. It must be nice to pass on the tradition.[:D]
