Rewarding Experience

[Jim Banner]

Had a great time this afternoon teaching a group of kids at a summer day camp how to turn their train sets into model railroads.  Of the 14 elementary school aged children in the group, 4 boys and 4 girls had train sets at home.  All of them, even the half dozen without train sets, were very enthusiastic.

We built our layout on a 4' x 6' sheet of foam which I had previously painted dandelion green.  The track went down quickly using E-Z Track, followed by a station and half a dozen false front buildings to make a frontier town.  Next we added trees, dozens of trees, poked into the foam, and people, lots of people in various poses but all dressed in 1890's clothing.

Finally, we got to the stars of the show - the trains.  We ran an 0n30 freight behind a 2-6-0 and had a passenger train on display as well.  Everybody ran the train, including a couple of kids who were at first reluctant but then clamoring to run it once they saw how easy it was.

All of this was done in an hour, but with 15 pairs of hands, nobody was rushed.  And if I may say so, the final product looked pretty good.  My favorite comment came from one young fellow who told me he could hardly wait to get home and get his train set out.  I suspect he was not the only one who suddenly saw his train set in a whole new light.

I am already looking forward to a repeat performance next month.

Jim

P.S.  The black based steel E-Z Track performed faultlessly, without a single stall.  This was after being stored for more than two years out in my garage.  It had been cleaned and lightly oiled before I used it the last time, but today it got no cleaning at all.   

[Doneldon]

Jim-

You sound like a great ambassador for model railroading.

                                                     -- D

[Johnson Bar Jeff]

What a wonderful story! A real day-brightener to read! 

[Loco Bill]

WAy to go Jim!!!!!!!

[mhampton]

I confess that I don't read every post on this board, but if I see that Jim has made a contribution, I know it's worth my time.  Good job, Jim.

[jonathan]

You are awesome, Jim!  You have contributed so much to the future of this hobby. 

By the way,  I know you are building a new layout.  When can we see some build photos?

Regards,

Jonathan

[pipefitter]

Thanks for the great story Jim

Robert

[NarrowMinded]

Your great Jim,
I'm going to start calling you Jimmy Railroad seed...

NM

[Colorado_Mac]

Nice work.  Sounds like fun, too!

[BradKT]

Great story Jim!  Guys like you are both selfless and priceless.  You have helped me several times before and I suspect that you have helped many others as well.

I am glad to see that there are people out there who will take the time to engage these active minds of the young kids.  They are the future of model railroading...and everything else.

Well done.