The Real Train Story

So of course, none of the awful things outlined in my last post actually happened.

I was gone for three days due to baby illness. Joanna was feeling poorly and the baby was developing the sniffles herself, which kept her up all night. Friday and Saturday nights were not fun, believe me, with little snatches of sleep every hour or so. Sunday was spent recuperating.

But Friday on the Day Out with Thomas proved to be quite fun for the most part. It took place down in Perris, at the Orange Empire Railway Museum, which is quite cool. I have always been a train fan anyway. The museum, as outlined on that site, is home to a number of old trains, including an extensive collection of old Los Angeles streetcars and a host of other engines and cars. The place is manned by friendly old folks (some of whom seem to have ridden on the old cars while in service) and has a kind of rustic charm.

We arrived in time to get inside and get in line for Thomas (they actually ship a full-size Thomas locomotive to various sites around the country for this--I'm not sure if it's simply a molding that goes over an existing train or [as seemed to be the case] an engine actually built as Thomas; you can get details about his travels here). Thomas actually broke down just before we boarded, causing much consternation among the waiting crowds; thankfully, we were just next to Thomas himself and got to spend the time chatting with him. Eventually he was repaired and we took a short ride out into the surrounding land--enough to see the new massive housing developments so popular out this way these days.

Afterwards we rode the "caboose train," made up entirely of... well, cabooses. They're vintage cars from the '30s and '40s and very nifty indeed. None of the tracks goes very far, but it was great to poke around in old cupboards and desks. I had no idea that the caboose was the "home away from home" for the railroad employees--it served as an observation post to keep an eye on the rest of the train (hence the little cupola on top) and contained a bed, a desk for paperwork, a wood stove, and other amenities. Really, if I could get my hands on one, it would make an absolutely perfect writing cabin...

We spent most of the rest of the day at the "Imagination Station," the most brilliant marketing invention known to man. It was a large tent full of Thomas toys that kids could play with--and they did, in hordes. It was a sprawling chaos of 10,000 children, approximately 20% of which were crying at any one time and 116% of which were making other sorts of loud noises. If one were so inclined, they could walk over to the gift shop, which was lined endlessly with Thomas-related items (the Thomas lantern, Thomas bed set, Thomas medical bag, Thomas electron microscope, Thomas treppanning kit, etc.) and then attempt to purchase something. Can you recall the lines for Star Tours at Disneyland when it first opened? That's what the line for the cash registers was like. It was phenomenal.

So despite some fierce tears at being torn away from the Imagination Station, the boys had a fine time (they've asked to ride Thomas again every day since) and it was a good day all around. Aunt Kathie scored some big points with this particular birthday present (it was her treat, you see).