I took the opportunity to go down and run the layout during the intermission of the hockey game. It occured to me as I was running the trains that my favourite part of running trains when I was a kid was turning the lights off in the room and watching the headlight of the loco light up the layout.
I realized that I have never really spent much time running my layout with the room lights off so I gave it a try. I have to say that I got that same feeling back from when I was a kid, watching the headlights come toward me, seeing the shadows cast by the searchlight car and the lights on all the accessories. It was a blast.
I am sure there are many here who often run their layouts with the trainroom lights off, but it is something that I have just not done in a long time. The great fun I had was a reminder that sometimes it's the simple things that make us happy, and I thought I would share this with you in the hopes that it may inspire someone else to give it a try. After all, having fun is what this hobby is all about.
Jay in Ottawa