...only for 5 minutes...

Man I understand.

Semper Fi Marine.

But what?  You have me on pins and needles.

What, me worry?

Alfred E Neuman posted:

But what?  You have me on pins and needles.

 

What, me worry?

...but - "only for 5 minutes"...

I try and do that as often as I can, it is serene and heart warming.

Know the feeling and when I m there I do not want to come back, memories.

I know the feeling.

Good for you RAILROADED.I do things like that all the time man.Thats how I keep my Mom and Dad alive.

Yup. Did the same today for just a short while, too. I currently have a big loop on the living room carpet and love to sit in the middle and watch 'em run.  With the holiday upon us, I too was transported to childhood memories and especially fond memories of my parents.  I called my 92-year old mother today and said that I was bringing my train set when I visit her. Her answer?  "It'll be fun!"  You're never too old to play with trains ...

TRRR

Enjoy that time with your mama. Take in every minute of it for the memories. 

  Even tho it's the Holidays, this time of year is hard on me in a way. Mom & dad's birthdays & their anniversary are both within 2 weeks of Xmas. Dad passed away in September '12 & mom was already sick. I moved her in with us in October & Xmas that year was the 1st one ever in my 42 years on Earth without a train board set up because our house is small & I had mom's hospital bed in my living room where we normally would have the tree. After 4 or 5 months, my wife & I couldn't do it anymore & the day after Xmas, I moved mom into a nursing home where she died about a month or so later. In the 3 years since, I've made it a point to be sure to have a really nice train display set up here, not just for me & my family (not many people really get to see it besides the 3 of us - because we don't host any parties - not enough room) but it's sort of a tribute to mom & dad & how much they always tried to make this time of year special for me when I was little & how much they both loved the holidays, to decorate, & the displays they'd put on each year. Since the time that they passed away, I've gotten some really nice stuff that I fixed up, restored, painted, or otherwise brought back to life & the layout this year is a real beaute- I really wish they could see this, they would be impressed & I can almost hear their voices now - they'd be cracking jokes about how much everything costs, & how it uses too much electric, & that it takes up too much room. It makes you laugh when you really think about it...

been doing that a lot lately. sitting on the floor in front of my late Uncle's train platform..the one I layed on the carpet at my Grandparents, watching my Uncle's 2020 going around. Then looking in an old photo album, and seeing the trains, now mine, that were Uncle Jim's, and my Dad's, from 1939, right there in front of me.

That's the magic of it. We are having the EXACT same experiance that they did so long ago, even with the passage of time, & the changing world around them, the trains still look, sound, smell, & feel like when they ran them for the 1st time. I have dad's from '54 & '82, & my uncle Joe's from '39. It's almost surreal. Down at track level, it's still 1939, or 1954, or 1982. There aren't many hobbies quite like this. It's just so heart warming to feel like that. It's as if, for a few minutes, I'm being reassured that I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing.

Every Christmas season I literally spend every evening running the trains around our tree with all of the room lights off except for the tree and layout lights.  It brings back memories of running trains at Christmas time with my dad and grandfather.  I like to think that they are there  with me enjoying our family layout.  With all the craziness which is taking place in our world today its nice to be able experience pleasant family memories and to enjoy the same trains our parents and grandparents did so many years ago.  Family owned trains-a true bridge to the past.  

None of my parents had trains so running trains isn't about memories. I wish my mother could see what I have built, she passed away in 1995 at the age of 51 so I had a very short time with her, my father is still around but he has never been one to get into something like trains so I am building memories for my kids and grandkids. My granddaughter loves to grab a paintbrush and dust off the layout. she's 4 last time I setup her stool and she stood there dusting off the layout and slipped off the stool to the floor she went grabing the layout on the way down she broke some of the railing I have around my station which she was dusting . and after I picked her up she saw she broke it and said papa I'm sorry I broke your choo choo's  I told her it was ok and asked if she was ok she said yes and went on about her business of dusting. a few minutes later I called her over and showed her what she had broke was fixed . a little super glue and it was all better the smile she got was amazing .

and a few years from now that little girl will be on here posting about train memories with her Grandpa!

Hoping so Long story but I have had guardianship of her since she was 3 months old and just had to give her back about a month ago . funny how court systems work. for instance last night at 2 am I headed to the hospital she was running a fever. her mother/my step daughter took her there but wouldn't handle it I ended up handling it she didn't even know what the baby was allergic too. so I ended up signing all the papers and buying the scripts to get her better it's a shame and very sad.

sounds like she has a guardian angle looking over her.....

here's my little helper about 5 minutes before she fell off the stool and broke the railings and another from last night in the hospital. I forgot to mention she also likes to play with the peoples as she calls them

Rename the station using her name. Plus I like the glove balloons in the pictures, must of made her laugh.

it's a no name station at the moment so maybe Annabelle station or her many nicknames b-belle, beans, HMM I really like the Idea. and yes the glove balloon's cracked her up I had to bring them home with her too there was no leaving them behind.  new thread time suggestions for Annabelle's station LMBO

Annabelle Falls Station

I like Annabelle Falls Station
Use your PC to print out the name try different font sizes/colors/frames to fit a existing sign back or make one.
Cut the correct size out for your sign back then spray the back of the paper lightly with a spay adhesive and just stick on.
This should make her smile and memories that she will never forget.

off to make a sign LOL

here we are still some touchups and paint on the wood part of it

Looks great she should really like this. What you are doing is not creating a sign but creating memories in a young girl that will last a lifetime.

Here it is cant wait to show her.

That's my favorite part...wiring and soldering. It takes a lot of wire to operate wireless.

Looks Great           Looks Great!