Christmas time has come and gone again, and I did quite well in the gift department. I got all kinds of great things from friends and family. I got more than I should have and far more than I deserved.
First, from my father I got a Hawthorn Village Budweiser On30 train set. This is my first On30 train. On30 is narrow gauge – O scale trains which are 1/4″ to the foot, running on HO track, giving a scale track gauge of 30 inches or 2 1/2 feet. The set is made by Bachmann and sold by the Bradford Exchange. Currently, it is running around under the Christmas tree. Yup, sorry, no longer “mint in package”!
Next, from my sister, I got framed print of a 2-4-0 locomotive. Now this isn’t just any old print. The pen and ink drawing is made up of many other objects. For instance, one of the drive wheels is a clock face, the top of the smoke stack is a pie, the band around the smoke stack is a belt, and part of the cow-catcher is a fan. Ever part of the locomotive and its tender is actually some other object. A very ingenious picture, and sorry for my very poor photograph of it. It now proudly hangs in my home office.
That was basically it for the train haul this year, but great stuff! In addition, I got some gift cards to places like Barnes & Nobles, Wal-Mart, and Best Buy that will most probably end up being turned towards my railroad hobby. Now I just need some time to play with it all.
On a separate but related note, I know of quite a few young kids who got their first train sets this year. I am really pleased to see the tradition continuing. What’s more, these sets went to both boys and girls, and the trains were wooden, electric, and of various scales. Hooray for diversity!
I hope the season has been good to you and yours, and I trust that next year will be just as good or better.
