Two things were obvious after our two day train show in Deland this weekend.
One: How tired I was (a good tired) – came home, had a beer, and crashed.
Two: How well we did.
For the second, I realized it when I was counting out our tip jar, $54.75. Now, it might not sound like a lot, but when you are counting a huge stack of ones, it’s easy to realize that many of these represent allowances from kids. Our club makes it a point to let the kids run, and there are signs up hinting how we’d sure like a donation for the privilege. I saw a couple of kids putting in their dollars, and dang if we didn’t seat every one of them. Oh, I’m sure that maybe only one in four, perhaps one in six paid (we were mobbed pretty much all weekend, and the club members were very gracious in the face of some difficult situations). But here, in my hand, was a thick wad of appreciation from the kids, and we’ll certainly accept it.
Otherwise, it was fun – the layout went together in record time – 45 minutes, someone said. And for takedown? I was putting all the buildings carefully away and by the time I turned around, everything was in the racks and we’re ready to go. Hell, we’re like gypsies in that way – a little encampment or a huge layout one moment, and then an empty space fifteen minutes later.
If you’d like to see a run from the cab, follow THIS LINK. Of course, this was before we’d gotten the kinks out so there were a couple of dead spots in the run when the train stalled.
Enjoy! We did!
>>>NO TRAINS, JUST TIME TRAVEL. HAVE A LOOK AT MY BOOK, FOR YOUR ENJOYMENT!<<<