A Day Out with Thomas 2004 

This trip to Strasburg, PA was mostly for the kids, but as it turned out ... Joe and I had a ball, too! We rode on Thomas' coaches, as well as having a longer ride on another train. We pumped the handcar down the line, and got cool temporary tattoos. The kids played in the Thomas play-zone and got matching T-shirts. It was a great day with lots of train fun for everyone! 

There He Is! We caught our first glimpse of Thomas as we drove past the station looking for parking. This close-up shot gives a great idea of just how big a "real-life" Thomas is.	Sir Topham Hat  The kids got cute "Junior Engineer" certificates after they met with the Head of the Railroad.
Let Me See  Everytime Matthew passed another child with a train, he stopped to check it out and then they'd talk about the engine and its entire history.	Matching Tattoos  The kids wanted Thomas tattoos, but my favorite has always been cheeky little Percy.
Ready to Return  This large engine pulled us from the station for about a 20-minute drive. Then, it uncoupled, backed to a switch and moved to another track. It then passed us, switched back to our track and recoupled to pull us back to the station.	The Old Ways  Strasburg is in the heart of Pennsylvania's Amish region. We saw many families working in their house gardens and men tending the fields.
The Driver This man was the driver and tour guide on a little tram-engine car ride we took. He explained about some of the engine and train restorations being done at Strasburg and that the "Thomas and the Magic Railroad" movie had been filmed there.	Tickets, Please  Joe readies the tickets for Thomas' conductor.
Say Cheese! The kids (in their brand-new matching Thomas T-shirts) just loved meeting the conductor in his spiffy uniform.	In Miniature We went to an enormous (and elaborate) miniature train display. It's hard to see, but here there are flickering "flames" in this house. The alarm went off at the fire station, the engine pulled out and drove down the block. Then a firefighter (just to the right of the house) came up and squirted real water to "put out" the flames. So cool!

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