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.
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.
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.
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…
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.