This isn't N scale per say, but one could model my story or others in N Scale. I will be relating one story of a Christmas memory and I am hoping others will join in. The rules of the game are simple: what Xmas memory do you have that involves railroading? It could have been a ride, a special surprise, a station in your youth well decorated, a Christmas Special train, anything as long as it involves rail roading. My memory dates back to 1956 in a small town in the Canadian Rockies called Jasper, Alberta. It was Christmas Eve day and I was sitting in the pool hall getting my haircut. My father was away working as an officer in the Canadian Forces peace keeping contingent in the Suez Canal crises. My mother and I had gone home to live in her home town for the year my father would be away. A pool hall was a common location for the barber to set up business in the praire's and rockies during these times. Often the barber owned the pool hall. The barber was just finishing up my hair cut and asking the usual questions about my father and how he was making out. It so happens that the pool hall/barber shop was right across the street from the train station. And sitting in the barber's chair, I could see all the action, comings and goings, of tourists and visitors coming into the town. During these years there was no airfield (sort of) and the road into and out of town was closed for the winter. The only way in was on the passenger trains. I knew my grandfather would be bringing in the passenger train West Bound in an hour so I decided I would hang around the station and wait for him. I didn't want to go home because the main entertainment there was baking, getting ready for the big day tomorrow. It had been snowing on and off all day. This town in nestled in a valley right in the middle of the Rockies. So every where you looked, there were mountain tops and ever greens. In the summer, bears would come into town for food. It wasn't at all unusual to pass three or four of them on the way to school in June. Tourists would circle them at the station as two or three would usually be crossing the tracks on there way into town. There were no bears as this was their hibernating season. Occassionally, one could see tracks of Elk through town. The town had a town "square" except ours was circular. It was just down from the pool hall, again across from the train station area. In the center was a "giant" Christmas tree, at least to this child's eyes. Buses from the Jasper Park Lodge - a famous resort were beginning to arrive to pick up their guests. Othere taxi's, buses, and cars from other hotels, resorts, and homes were getting ready for their guests. It was snowing and the energy, glow, excitement and magic of Christmas was about. Because of skiing, the Christmas crowd was always large. Eventually the steamer arrived (I don't remember what type) with all its passengers. I would wait roughly where I knew the engine would stop on the side of the track where I could see my grandfather. Through the snow I could hear the engine slowing down and my grandfather waving out the engineer's side. He always took a few minutes before climbing down so I went around the other side and watched the baggage being unloaded onto the wagons, which where having a bit of difficulty maneuvering because of the snow. The train was filled to capacity, but since this was a major stop for such a small town, many were getting off to begin their Canadian Rockies holiday. My grandfather grabbed his leather carrying bag, with engineer's cap and overalls, and a coat over all of this. Because it was Christmas eve, he offered to buy me a treat from the beanery - a dish of ice cream. After eating the ice cream, we went back into the station for our final moment of warmth before we walked the four blocks home. A school choir of all girls were visiting, staying at the lodge. many of them broke into spontaneous Christmas carols. It was wonderful. Even at an early age of eight, I knew this was something special. I never entered the rail road as an engineer. I didn't know it at the time, but I was being prepared for a life of model railroading. (CHRISTMAS EVE - 1956)
Grand rsn48! Merry Christmas. ------------------ Residing in BNSF's St. Croix Subdivision near Trempealeau, WI
Thanks for that post rsn48 - that's an enjoyable read. Charlie ------------------ Ship It On The FRISCO! | IAMOKA.com
There's an old saying that a picture is worth a thousand words. Well, rsn48, I don't think you had a thousand words in your post but you sure did paint a pretty picture. Thanks Joe
One of my favorite chirsmas storys. A couple of years ago my MOM decided to get tickets for my faimly to take the Christmas train from Seattle To Levenworth WA via Stevens pass. The train was made up of Amfleet cars with two F40PH's for power. The trip there was nice and we were in leavenworth for several hours, however on the way back to Seattle while travaling through Cascade tunnle the Train suddenly lost all power to the cars, The ER lights came on but the seals between all the cars was broken and the elctrcal doors would not stay closed, so here we are in the middle of a 8 mile tunnle with exaust fumes coming into the train cars and no lights. Well they stopped the train out side of the tunnle in Scenic to decide what to do. They decided that they would take the train to seattle with no power in the passenger cars. It go t pretty cold on the way back but it is a experiance I will never forgett. Oh yea, my closterphobic Dad just had a ball in that tunnle!
Kevin, hope to take that trip in the summer..looking forward to it. Wouldn't mind going from Vancouver..to Portland, but Amtrack doesn't make that route easy if you want to train it all the way.
I can just picture it rsn48. A great story. My train memory at Christmas time was when I was 8 and my folks gave me my first electric train. A Hornby Dublo. The Dutchess of Atholl. I still have the loco and tender to this day. That train sure gave me hours and hours of pleasure. A Christmas to be remembered ------------------ Robin member #35 Maberly and Tayside [This message has been edited by Robin Matthysen (edited 08 December 2000).] [This message has been edited by Robin Matthysen (edited 08 December 2000).]
What still sticks in my memory is the smell of the smoke the train sets made when we got them as a kid. My first one was around 1956. I can also remember all the nasty things we did to them. Amazingly, they withstood an amazing amount of abuse. I can also still remember the smell the transformer gave out. And seeing the display at christmas.
Thought I would bounce the very first thread I started at Trainboard. I tried finding it before Xmass - 2004 - but couldn't. I just stumbled on it today.
Thanks for finding that again. My memories deal more with toy trains. Christmas was a time when we pulled out all the Marx tin plate 027 and took over the house. At first I was too young to do much but watch in awe. I had my own plastic pull train that kept me occupied but that was not the same. My mom had fits because we would set up a yard under the dining room table, the living room floor was covered with farms that were set up on 4 X 4 foot sheets of burlap that my Grandma had added crocheted rows of yarn for fields of crops. The tracks ran through this with sidings to put out stock cars. The sad part was it all had to be put away after New Years Day.
Wonderful! The tree reminds me of that which my grandparents would have in their living room. I also had a wooden train. Wish my memory would release the brand name. The wood tracks pushed together. The engines and cars all had little hooks. I built might empires. I quickly graduated to Lionel. And later, American Flyer was added to the mix. Somewhere I have pictures. Somewhere..... Boxcab E50
The tree and train set also could easily be me as you can imagine with an uncle and and grandfather as engineers in the family. Lots of good memories of my train set when I was a young bunny.
Here is a different kind of Christmas train. It is some of the KCS train, which is currently at Union Station.
