Postcards From Myself

Preacher Ludlow looked down at the train schedule in his hand, glanced up a the large clock on the railway station wall, and then neatly folded the type written schedule back together and tucked it in his wallet. Preacher shifted his gaze out the window and saw the people on the platform start shifting from foot to foot and pick up their bags and packages.

Pulling into the station precisely at half-past nine in the morning, the train was late again as usual. That the nine-fifteen train would arrive a quarter of an hour late was the norm here. The first train of the day arrived on time at fifteen minutes past eight, but after that each successive train would be about fifteen minutes later. This causes a slow but steady shift of the schedule where the ten fifteen train would arrive at ten forty-five and so on. By the end of the day, entire runs were shaved off the route. Nobody seemed to care much though because the trains still ran throughout the day, there was plenty of room on each one for everyone who cared to ride, and most everyone who took the train out of the little country station knew the actual schedule by heart.
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I just wanted to pause for a moment and wish you all a Merry Christmas. One of the things I have associated with Christmas since I was a small boy is trains. I love railroads and model railways, but as with a lot of folks, that pull gets even stronger around the holidays.

So, my off way of wishing you a happy holiday is to post a couple of model train pictures. The first one above, is of the OO British train that we have around our Christmas tree at home this year. I have been collecting British engines, cars, and buildings for years from makers like Hornby, Bachmann, and Lima, but this is the first time I have actually put them out. Maybe one day I will have a full layout, but until then under the Christmas tree will have to suffice. My son the layout work and test all of my engines to find the one that ran the best and most consistently.

The second picture, below, is from the Charleston Place hotel in downtown Charleston. Every year this grand hotel, owned The Orient-Express Hotels, puts a huge display up at the base of their main staircase. This layout is always a favorite with visitors and especially children – no matter what their age. This year the layout was created by the Charleston Model Railroad Club. It is, I am guessing, twenty feet by fifteen feet and probably eight feet at its highest point. With many different engines running at the same time, all automated, it is quite an impressive display.

So there you have some of my favorites for the season. Two things that both bring joy to my family and me currently, and bring back memories of things I loved when I was a boy. I wish you and yours a joyful and memorable holiday as well.