We had a good time at the New Hope Valley Railway this morning. We got there around 10:30, which is normally enough time to ride the first train. Today was a mob scene, however, and we spent thirty minutes just waiting in line to buy our tickets. It seems the railway can’t sell tickets fast enough and that leads to delays. I suppose it doesn’t matter, though, since they only have one train and one track.
Had a good conversation with one of the regular volunteers there, asking how they get their equipment in. I wondered if they had it delivered by the nearby CSX track. The gentleman replied that the club had no switch: CSX charges $250,000 to install a switch onto their main line, he said. Then if the CSX client doesn’t use it frequently enough to cover the maintenance cost, CSX tacks on a $4000 yearly charge for that. What’s more, CSX owns the switch, so if the client goes out of business CSX digs up the switch and sells it to another client. Pretty good racket those railroads have got, all for the pleasure of doing business with them.
We had missed the 11 o’clock train so we took the time to return to the car for a picnic lunch. After a stop to see the model trains on their track, we made our way to the loading area to wait for the train to return. Travis, Hallie and I waited in the hot sun for a seat in the lead caboose. The kids played with a new friend, who was happy to share his toy cars and trucks with them while I chatted with his mom. It was their first time riding so I gave them some tips.
The train ride was fun. We sat in the cupola on the way out and hopped down to visit at the half-way point. Hallie and Travis encountered a girl about 6 years old who was incredibly selfish and rude, pushing them out of the way when they wanted to look out the door and taking their toys away from them without asking. Her clueless mother sat five feet away and seemed oblivious, so I took it upon myself to ask the girl (somewhat pointedly) if other kids could look out the door too. I backed off a bit once she seemed to acknowledge that I was watching her but I stepped back in when I saw her wrestle a toy from Hallie’s hands. I don’t know what her problem is, or more specifically what her parents’ problem is, but that kid could obviously use some parenting and hadn’t been getting it. I figure she must be very lonely at home and will probably remain lonely with her kind of social skills. I was proud that our kids kept their cool and didn’t respond to her behavior in kind.
After returning from the train ride, Travis got his nap while Hallie went to play with her friend, Lily. I took a short nap on the couch and Kelly ran some errands. Upon Travis (and my) awakening, we went to our friends the Reid’s for a fun dinner. The kids had a blast playing with each other and we had fun catching up with old friends.
Its been an exciting day for all of us. I believe I’ll be retiring to bed with my book soon. Don’t know what we’ll do for Labor Day tomorrow but hopefully we can get in more fun family time.