Boys and Trains.

What is it with boys and trains? In an era when most boys have not even seen freight being unloaded from a train let alone ridden in one, many are still obsessed with them. It amazes me! It's not just Thomas either. As a matter of fact, our Thomas sales have taken a dive as our other train sales have climbed. Our electric trains do great particularly at Christmas time. Is it grandfathers passing along their passion? It really seems more organic than that. Eight times out of ten when a little boy comes through the front door of the store he heads right over to our Plan City train table. For some of these guys we are known as the train store though trains make up less than 1% of our inventory. We used to be exclusively Brio and Thomas, but then Brio went and got all strange and new-age with their trains and began manufacturing in China so I stopped ordering them and introduced Melissa and Doug for a generic non-character train. Yes, M&D is manufactured in China also, but they are priced like they are manufactured in china. I brought in Plan as an environmentally friendly option. Manufactured in Thailand from reclaimed rubber-tree wood. I love Plan toys! Boys and cars, I get that. Boys and construction stuff, I get that too. Boys and weapons, I even get that. But trains! I don't understand the drive in this day and age. Still, I must admit that though it is considered trespassing, I can't resist the urge to balance on the rails between 3rd and 5th street on my walk home (where this picture was taken incidentally). I enjoy the sound of the rumble and whistle when the 11:00 blows through town. I am transported by old songs of riding the rails and the freedom that it presented. I look forward to a time when we abandon much of the transportation we currently use and ride the rails once again.