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Catch This Train While You Can!

Big Trains

October 13, 2024

For a limited time, the Mohawk Valley Heritage Railroad is running their narrow-gauge train to the pumpkin patch at Erie Canal Village in Rome NY. The Mohawk Valley Heritage Railroad is a new venture.  They have purchased the old demo railroad at Erie Canal Village, and this is their first series of excursions.  It is a fun little jaunt to their pumpkin patch, where each rider may choose a pumpkin to take home.  Along with the train ride, they have a trunk-or-treat event set up in the 19th century village, as well as a snack bar and an opportunity to speak with the folks making this all possible.  They start running at 3:00pm and the last run goes out at… Continue Reading…

Birthday Find

Model Trains

September 2, 2023

Sometimes it’s hard to keep a secret. And sometimes it’s oh, so worth every bite of the tongue. In June we went to the mini Antique Week in Bouckville. My son and I were in the lead on the dash to our favorite vendor with the rest of the family right behind us. As we negotiated the crowds, I caught sight of a big blue engine out of the corner of my eye. I frantically waved at it behind my back while I kept my son’s attention on getting through the crowd.

The Busy Report

Model Trains

September 2, 2023

The last couple of weeks have certainly been exciting! The Funtrak yearly picnic started things off. It was a lovely day and we greatly enjoyed meeting the other members of the club. The kids very obviously had a great time between outside play activities and the train layout in the basement.

Blue Eyez

Model Trains

August 4, 2023

It’s time for the Madison-Bouckville Antique Week again! This is where we connect with our favorite place to find model trains, Blue Eyez Auctions. Their tent is the first place we head for when we get to the festival. They always have a box or two of train stuff and Miss Erin is always happy to let us dig through it to our heart’s content. This can take a while. After all, these are big decisions for a little guy.

Sleep Sounds

Wild Trains

July 28, 2023

Many children (and adults) benefit from regular and lulling sounds played while they sleep. Ocean waves are popular as are gentle rain and thunderstorms. I used to listen to a recording of peepers. Having a particular soundtrack that is played only at night can be a comforting part of the bedtime ritual and can serve as a gentle signal that it’s time to sleep. I turn one on when we start getting into our jammies and it plays as I read him his bedtime stories. When he took naps it went on as he settled in for his one naptime book. Unlike most kids, though, he has absolutely no interest in waves or other Nature sounds. Nope. He’s a Trainboy… Continue Reading…

The Train Cookie Cutter

Wild Trains

July 28, 2023

My train boy loves anything that’s a train. A while back I found a shop that sells an impressive array of cookie cutters. I snapped up three of them – a locomotive, a boxcar, and a caboose. These things have turned out to be an amazingly versatile tool in my kit.

RHSNNY Open House in Croghan NY

Big Trains

July 28, 2023

Croghan is a bit of a drive for us but it’s well worth it to support this particular Historic Station. The museum has a large collection of railroad artifacts and ephemera on the second floor. It’s easy to spend more time than you expected to looking at it all. There’s a play spot for the smaller kids and a nice HO scale layout that will interest older children and adults as well. Unfortunately, the model railroad engineer was unable to make it on Saturday so it wasn’t running but it’s still fascinating to look at.

Open House at the Croghan Train Station

Big Trains

July 28, 2023

The Railway Historical Society of Northern New York is having an Open House at the Croghan Train Station this Saturday, July 8. There’s something for every train enthusiast at the station. The trolley and the speed car will run every half hour from 10:00am to 3:00pm. Rides on the trolley are free and rides on the speed car will be a nominal $5.00 per person or $10.00 per family. Tours of the station are free. There is a large and interesting model train layout in the station, as well as a train simulation game for the kids to play. A chicken barbecue meal will be available for purchase. There’s plenty of history to experience here. Many of the historic train… Continue Reading…

The Switching Yard Game

Wild Trains

July 28, 2023

We have a switching yard in front of our house. There are nine tracks, a water tower, and a coaling station. Every morning there’s work to do there. Most of the time there are trains all ready to go and all a locomotive needs to do is couple up and deliver them to where they need to go. Sometimes there’s a bit of shunting to do to get them ready.

Safety Post

Model Trains

June 30, 2023

The first question that pops into a parent’s head when buying toys for their child is often “Is it safe?” I’m not going to lie to you. Model trains are meant to run in circles on a track in a layout and that movement is the fascination for any age. But for the three to seven crowd, their toys are their friends. They have names and feelings and needs. When the train is done running the track, a younger child will want to snuggle and feed it. They’ll probably want to sleep with it, too. The slightly older child will want to take their train along on their day to share experiences with it. Since most model trains say that… Continue Reading…

You’re Never Too Young For A Model Train Friend

Model Trains

June 30, 2023

When my son first started clamoring for model trains, as opposed to Thomas and other “children’s” trains, I had to make a decision. Did I want to let him play with something that he was supposed to be five years too young to play with? After much thought, I decided that I wanted to allow him the freedom to explore the hobby at his developmental level and made ways to make it work for him. Some of these ideas might be helpful to you. First, I made sure that we were all clear on what are model trains and what are toy trains. Model trains run on electricity. Toy trains either run on batteries or are pushed/ pulled by hand.

Railfest 2023

Big Trains

June 24, 2023

“RAILFEST!” A series of toots from my son’s bedroom followed by a long foghorn effect (his Big Boy whistle) guaranteed that we were awake. Then it was on the road for Railfest at Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Steamtown is fun for train lovers of any age any day of the year but the sheer number of trains on display at Railfest was enough to delight everybody. We tooted hello to the Big Boy #4012 as we drove past her on the way to the parking area and immediately went to see the Birthday Girl, the Canadian Pacific #2317, who was on display in front of the roundhouse. She’s 100 years old this month and celebrated by giving… Continue Reading…

Wild Trains!

Wild Trains

June 30, 2023

We’re a reading family so I’m always on the lookout for good books. Really good books can be life changing. I found one of this caliber three or four years ago at the thrift store. It’s entitled How To Train A Train written by Jason Carter Eaton and illustrated by John Rocco. Wow. We never knew there were wild trains. We had to go looking for them. Of course, once you know they’re out there their tracks are pretty easy to spot. Our valley is full of them!

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