I understand that a major reason for Neil Young developing the Lionel TMCC system was to enable his son to control Neil's trains.
I am on the board of the Pennsylvania Assistive Technology Foundation ( www.patf.us ), and we assist individuals with disabilities to acquire technology they need. We recently had a photo contest and one of the winners tells the story of Ruby, below.
This is a wonderful Christmas train story.
A few years ago members of this Forum donated a number of train sets, to be given to children who might not otherwise receive more than a few items for Christmas. I requested a set for a young boy with disabilities and a set was shipped to me. It was a meaningful December day for me when I went to his house and set up the Lionel train for him, before he came home that day. What a happy surprise it was!
There are many ways in which we can bring the fun of our hobby to children who will very much appreciate it.
Ruby's story:
Meet A Rare Ruby. She will be 6 in December. She has a form of brain disease known as leukodystrophy, specifically H-ABC. We wanted to expand on the capabilities of the Big Mack switch, so we borrowed a PowerLink Control Unit from PATF. This device allows Ruby to turn on and off anything with a plug. At first, she used it to turn the Christmas lights on and off, and we recorded Christmas music on the Big Mack. She LOVED it!
She loved it so much that we decided to get her a toy train. She picked out this Lionel Frozen II set. We have the speed set on the remote, so whenever she presses her switch, the train turns on. When she presses it again, it turns off. It is really magical watching the reflection of the Christmas lights in her eyes as she lights up inside playing with her train.
See the video at facebook.com/rarestruby
How did you fund it? PATF Loan, out-of-pocket
