All Aboard the Choo-Choo Train

Auntie Rhonda started Roman on his most recent craze – trains – when she bought him the heavily-rotated “Choo-Choo Soul” CD/DVD a year back. I never thought anything would surpass his love of airplanes, but I think trains may have actually done that as of late.

So it was a no-brainer when my co-worker called to tell me that the North Atlanta Trade Center was hosting their annual Train Expo, less than 5 miles from my house, no less. We went immediately after his afternoon nap and the trip did not disappoint.

I know there are people who have fetishes and preferences of all kinds, but it is always a little intimidating to me when I meet people like this. I mean, folks who have tattoos and brands of the object of their affection – in this case, trains. I saw grown men with tattoos of diesel engines and couples with matching conductor outfits right down to the striped overalls (which ALL look like Osh Kosh B’Gosh, no matter how old the person is who is wearing them).

But overall it was a great showcase of some pretty amazing trains. Model trains that ran through microscopic copies of rural towns to a small village set up with 2 ft long train cars. The favorite of the afternoon for the Bostick Family – an entire city made of Legos’, including a mechanical drawbridge and replica of the Georgia Dome. Yup – you heard me, the GA DOME!

The large-scale train set up was a hit too, mainly bc it was placed on the ground and Roman could watch without us holding him (a plus for all involved) and also bc the models were so large, I think he could have actually ridden them. Trust me, he tried a few times to get over that fence.

After we watched all types of trains and brought yet ANOTHER wooden Thomas, which will undoubtedly be lost between the cracks of the sofa or the underside of Mommy’s seat in the car, we headed home with a new found appreciation for trains and their fans.