Josh loves trains

[spankybird]

Hi all,

I wanted to share a story about a little boy named Josh. He is three years old and loves trains. Josh’s parents are friends of my sister-in-law. They brought Josh over the other night to see my trains. He was in heaven. He wanted me to keep changing to different engines and run them. After two hours it was time for Jo***o leave. He ask if he could come back the next day.

But that’s not the good story. We live next to (about ¾ mile) from the main line of CSX and NS on the east side of Cleveland, Ohio. The two mainlines are very close at this point, only about 500 feet about. We also are next to First Energy, Eastlake power plant. Yes this is the one that we all remember last August 15 blackout. This also means that we get to see the switching of coal drags into the plant.

One day Josh’s dad was first in line waiting for the switching. Josh was jumping up and down on the front seat as he watched the trains do there work. The engineer noticed Josh and when they were uncoupling the engine for the coal cars, he walk over to Josh’s dad and said that they had to move the engine down the track about ½ mile. I they wanted to they could ride in the cab and he would bring them back by car.

Josh got the best train ride. In a real CSX engine.

What a great thing for the engineer to do.

I am working with Josh’s dad to get him a train of his own.

[brianel027]

Great story Spankybird. As you have seen, there are kids who are interested in and like trains. This is why I don't understand why there aren't any train sets with a current road name on them. Actually, it's probably financial. Could it be there is a permission fee that wuld need to be paid for using a modern road names? If so, I'm sure using the older road names of defunct long gone railroads helps keep costs down.

Nonetheless, imagine the excitement of a kid who has an experience like this, or simply likes to watch real trains - when he gets a train set where the engine looks like the trains he (or she) has been watching. Kids might not know engine model types, but they can recognize a paint scheme. The various schemes of the CSX are pretty memorable. And I know kids recognize the Conrail logo and the horse logo of the Norfolk Southern. Yet it's been over a decade since any of these names appeared on any affordable starter set.

I'm certain a Lionel Norfolk Southern Flyer Set or a CSX Diesel Freight Set would be just as popular as the Pennsy Flyer or the GN Diesel Freight Set. Even the Lionel 4-4-2 steamer with tender would look pretty good with the NS logo with the horse on the tender. The thing the modern roads do is give a kid something to relate his or her train too, especially when they have a chance to see a real train.

I know, as I've said before, that young kids get much more excited when seeing my trains when I run something from the NS, CSX or Conrail than they do any other road, even though schemes of railroads like the New Haven are certainly colorful.

I wouldn't have minded going on that "train ride" either. Josh is a lucky boy. Maybe he could pull some strings and get me on the next ride. [:)]

[Anonymous]

josh kinda reminds me of when i was younger. i loved trains early. here in Fond du Lac is one of the major hubs of the wisconsin central, and my parents would take me there so often. there was plenty of action, their only two switchers were usually humping cars onto the the nearby sidings, gp-38's (wis central's most common loco before CN bought it out) were going on the turntable in the roundhouse.

[spankybird]

Hi Brain,

After I posted this and thought of some of the other times you pointed out about having trains on our layout that are on the tracks today, I noticed that I don’t. I do love steam, but how many people have even seen a steam engine.

So maybe I should have a current train just for when I have visitors. Even thou my layout is based in 1915, this could be the train of the future. My birthday is the beginning of next month, I told my wife that I have pick out my birthday present. Don’t you just love it. I want a new train. I am such a kid at heart.

MTH has made CSX diesel’s like this one, F40PH. It does have PS2 with even smoke. (almost like steam).

.

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I thank my wife for my birthday present. Soon she will find out what she got me.
I’m so bad, I will have to eat at Subway for a month or so.


I picked up some NS tank and box cars last summer, at all places, a garage sale. And your right Elliot, I had to drive about 15 miles to see one with trains.

On the CSX lines, I do see some BNSF and UP also run thru.

[Anonymous]

It's good to know that there are kids like Jo***hat love trains! Thanks for sharing that story with us. I once got a cab ride in a CP engine when I was little and it was a real thrill for me.