Several years ago my friend Pat invited my oldest son Aiden and I to his house to see his layout. Pat and I have been friends, since I was in first grade (he is a year older than me). When we were kids Pat had a decent sized layout in his parent's basement and we were both into O-gauge. As we grew up the trains took a side burner for girls, college, and then careers. Anyway back to about the layout. Pat kept telling me about Legacy, which at the time I couldn't figure out what he was talking about. The day that my Aiden and I went to see the layout. I got the train bug back (I still had all my stuff from when I was kid still). That night when I got home I was on the iPad researching legacy and all the new stuff in the hobby now a days. I'm hooked more than ever, especially with scale engines and rolling stock.
Anyways back to what this post is really about. I have three sons (Aiden, Ian, and Alex). Aiden is 7, Ian is 2, and Alex just turned 1 in August. When I got back into the hobby I wanted to share the joys of model railroading from running trains to building a layout with my kids. I currently don't have permanent layout, but setup a temporary carpet layout when the mood hits me. Today in Northeastern Pennsylvania it is damp and raining. Perfect night to some railroading! My middle guy LOVES trains. He is always on youtube watching the videos on the Thomas trains that run on wooden tracks. I said to my oldest guy very quietly before dinner lets go setup the train, since we just got Vision Line PFE Reefers from one of my preorders. So off we went. Once Ian heard that Bigboy fire up his face lit up and he ran upstairs.
Now both Aiden and Ian can run the trains with Legacy remote. Yes, my two year old can run a train on Legacy. Now he can't operate it likes his brother, but it does good. Here is a video from this evening:
My point is that I didn't get back into the hobby not to allow my sons to play with this stuff. I want them to have the joys that I did as a kid and also I want them to learn everything that model railroading can teach them, which may help them as they grow. Like carpentry, electronics, creative thinking, design, or so many other things. Aiden and Ian both run my Visionline Bigboy and all my high end locomotives and rolling stock. They don't do it alone. I'm always there to guide and teach them, but never do I say they can't run the trains. Here is a video of Aiden running the Big Boy and showing how the PFE Reefers work:
I see so many posts about how to retain kids in the hobby. Let them play! Teach them how to respect the models and that they aren't $5 dollar toys. Teach them what you know, which may even help them determine their career or interests.
Thanks for reading my post. I just wanted to share the joy I have with my sons and model railroading.
Hopefully Aiden (his first time) and I will see some of you at York. Wish Ian could come, because it would blow his mind but he is still too young.
Have a great weekend!
Chris
to you all!
