Think Back Thursday: Railroad

The only way this could have been better timing is if this theme had come up next week.  Tomorrow (we hope - this morning they informed me that their train was late and they had missed a connection) my parents are arriving for a visit and I am pretty sure we will head out on at least one railroad related sightseeing adventure with them while they are here.  My dad loves trains!  When I was growing up, our family vacations always had little side trips and stops related to trains.  If we went by a park that had a steam locomotive displayed, Dad stopped so we could get a look (and a picture).  If we had to choose a campground, Dad preferred the ones near the train tracks.  And if we were driving down the highway and saw a train coming down the adjacent track, Dad would pull over so he could take a picture of the locomotives.  It got to the point that he would slow down and check the engine number and know whether he already had a picture of that one or not.  Not even kidding.  It became something of a family joke, and Dad has endured lots of teasing over the years about his super-long slideshows of locomotives! When my hubby and I moved to the east coast, it gave Dad the opportunity to see places like the B&O Railroad Museum, Altoona, and Strasburg when he and Mom came to visit.  And several times, including this time, Dad and Mom have traveled here by train.

When my boys were little, they were CRAZY about Thomas the Tank Engine - and really, who wouldn't be?  I admit I loved the Thomas shows and stories almost as much as they did.  (Do you have a preference for George Carlin or Ringo Starr as Mr Conductor?  I find it hard to choose.  Starr's British accent was perfect for it, but Carlin did a fantastic job of it too.)

So I have a TON of train-related pictures, and it was hard to narrow down to a manageable number of them to share in this Think Back Thursday.  I chose these from the spring of 2007, when Mom and Dad and I took the kids to Strasburg, Pennsylvania.  We spent some time in the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania and took a ride on the Strasburg Railway steam train.  Believe me, I have so many more train pictures, but these were readily available for me to share without spending way too much time rooting through photo albums and scanning the older pictures!  (Because Mom and Dad's train arrives very soon, which means I have to clean the house! LOL)

Had to get a picture of Dad taking a picture! 

I'm sort of hoping that we can visit the B&O Railroad Museum while Dad is here this time.  We haven't been since well before it was damaged by extremely heavy snowfall several years ago and it would be fun to see it again.  Especially since Kennady and Landon have never seen it.

Visit Debbie's Digest to join in with Think Back Thursday, and to see what other bloggers are sharing for this week's theme.  Next week's theme will be Autumn.  Upcoming themes include: Baby, Out of Focus, Entry/Doorway, Thanksgiving, and Yourself/Self-Portrait.

Think Back Thursday is a photo meme that encourages sharing something from the past.  It is hosted by Debbie's Digest.  You can find out more about it, and how you can participate, by clicking the link or the button below.