I put the train up in the school auditorium in front of the stage. Worked to 2:00 AM last night getting the wiring to everything and checking out the switches, etc. Please tell me why these things will fail, you fiddle with it, and all of sudden it works and you are not quite sure why? My first group came in at 10:20 AM and I just finished cutting a mountain out of stryfoam a few minutes before they got there. As they came in, I fired up ole 2056 all decked out in Milwaukee livery pulling my 9500 passenger cars, and toy trains took over. Any way, I got through pre-school, kindergarten, one first grade, and second grade today. The rest will be tomorrow.
There is a real magic in watching the faces of kids light up when the train switches, the milk man puts the cream cans on the platform, and the coal/log dump cars drop off their cargo. I use a little magic that Santa Claus gave me and shrink the kids, they climbed on the Milwaukee Hiawatha and we took an imaginery train trip to Seattle. When we were done, they had a ton of questions. When they found out I got 2056 for Christmas 1952 , they were amazed. Several of the kids now want trains for Christmas. We are a long way from anywhere, but there are train stores in Billings, Montana and Rapid City, South Dakota.
Ladies and Gentlemen if kids have their way, there will always be a place for toy trains. When I tell them the story of that Christmas over a half century ago, they see me in a much different light. “Gosh, the superintendent was really a kid once too!”
I should have some pictures in the next few days and will try and get them on the board. I wonder if any parents will be trying to find train sets in the next couple of days? Toy trains and Christmas, it doesn’t get much better than that!