What heaven looks like
to a little boy. We went to the B&O Railroad Museum last weekend. What a great time he had there. I think he couldn't believe how big real trains were compared to his toys and Thomas on TV. But what a treat! He got to ride on a real train and everything. At the end, he was exhausted, but genuinely thrilled.
In 2003, a bad snowstorm caused the roof of the roundhouse to collapse, doing severe damage to several of the trains inside. You can see some photos of what happened here. It was a really sad day. But they have rebuilt the roof to withstand such events and opened to the public. There are still several trains that need to be repaired. Most will cost over $500,000 to restore, one was over $1,000,000. Such a shame when you compare them to the condition of the trains that survived the collapse relatively unscathed.
So, here are some photos from the trip, I know they are huge, but I wanted them that way, so deal...;-):
Here is the little boy in front of one of the trains that are outside:
Here is one of the trains that is still damaged. You can see the paint has peeled badly and the cockpit area was crushed. $500,000 to repair.
This is one of the jewels of the museum. When I see that big funnel, I can only think of "The little engine that could."
Here is one view of the inside of the roundhouse today. Standing on the turntable in the middle and looking around is an impressive experience. The size and complexity of the trains just sitting there, was enough for me. I can only imagine it would be more so to see them in motion. The roof below the lower windows is what collapsed and fell directly on the trains.
Lastly, here is a shot of the upper roof, also restored after the collapse. It was taken from on the turntable below. It's a really impressive sight in person.
There are several other photos, but these are some of my favorites. What a great day, and despite all the granduer of these trains, what could we not pull the little boy away from? The model trains! This is probably something I wouldn't have really thought of going to without a child. Just another reason I'm glad we had him!
Dave
posted by Unknown @ 2:46 PM
4 comments
4 Comments:
That is cool! I've never been on a train, but I've always wanted to! I looks like it'd be a fun way to travel because you don't have the limitations and cramped space of an airplane. Thanks for sharing pics... I love museums and getting to see things I am geographically far away from :) You and Lisa (GoKayak) are good at showing us all little history lessons! I love! :)
cool dave!
your little boy looks so TINY compared to that huge thing.
i agree, i love the little mini history lessons!!!
Thanks guys! The little boy IS so tiny compared to the train! Those were mammoths. Think about this, the tender for the engine he is standing in front of (essentially the fuel tank of coal for the engine, the second car of the train, held 12,000 TONS, not pounds, tons of coal, and that was in addition to the weight of the car itself, never mind the rest of the train. Those trains kicked out serious horsepower.
I wish I had taken a photo of the whole engine, then little boy would have looked very tiny compared to the whole thing, heck a family reunion would look quite small compared to it!
So, Dev, when will you have some updates? Anyway, glad I could provide a brief history lesson. If I have the chance to scan some more, I'll post them soon after. There's one of a stagecoach on rails that's neat.
Dave
All we have in Winnipeg to that effect is a vintage train (the Prairie Dog Central) that runs in the summer to the next town over. It's sweet. I used to really dig trains as a kid. I think a lot of kids had a 'train phase' – between the 'dinosaur phase' and the 'space phase'.
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