Tag Archives: trains

Spend the Summer Riding the Rails

Are you sickened by the prospect of spending $45 to store your carry-on bag in an overhead bin on a flight that already cost you an arm and a leg? Amtrak hopes you are. The national railroad leader is hoping the hassle and growing expense involved with flying to your vacation destination will prompt you to ride the rails this summer… and beyond. To lure frequent flyers to railroad tracks, Amtrak has been working hard to improve its services and amenities. “We are investing in our infrastructure to improve the reliability, safety and security of our operations,” said Amtrak President … Continue reading →

Happy National Train Day

Tomorrow is National Train Day and I can’t help but think of my pre-schooler’s favorite train joke: What kind of train can sneeze? Ah choo choo. My daughter waits for the laughter to die down before informing her “fans” that she’ll be here all week. Okay, back to National Train Day. Whether you are a regular rider of the rails or not Amtrak is encouraging you to visit one of their stations tomorrow. The nationwide campaign includes live entertainment and activities for youngsters. Amtrak hopes the hoopla will inspire travelers to consider riding a train to their next vacation destination. … Continue reading →

Wooden Train Table and Trains Deal!

Shop early for the holidays and take advantage of this great deal on one of the most beloved types of toys. Kids love those wooden train sets, especially when they are mounted on a nice sturdy table that is right at kids height. Whenever we go into any kind of toy store that has one of those sets, my kids immediately gravitate toward it, even though they are three different ages. There is just something about the trains that is fun. I don’t know if it is the bridges or the stations or the feel of the trains themselves, but … Continue reading →

Frugal Fun with Train Loving Kids

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This great idea comes courtesy of a neighbor of mine. She is a stay at home mom with one school age boy and a darling two-year old girl. This mom, like many parents, is always looking for inventive and free (or at least very inexpensive) family fun. She recently shared with me a great lunchtime activity that she had just recently enjoyed with her two children. It was around 11 a.m. on a Saturday and the kids were getting rather bored with being in the house. Her answer to this childhood midday malaise? She packed up some peanut butter and … Continue reading →

Thomas and the Magic Railroad (2000)

The “Thomas the Tank Engine” books have been delighting children everywhere since they first came on the scene in the 1980’s. I guess movie makers felt they had a surefire hit on their hands when they decided to make Thomas into a full-length feature film, but I think the poor producers were a little bit deluded in their dreams of grandeur. In “Thomas and the Magic Railroad,” Mara Wilson stars as Lily, an eleven-year-old who is going to visit her grandfather (Peter Fonda). Taking a wrong turn along the way, she ends up in the town of Shining Time, and … Continue reading →

Amtrak Schools on Trains Program Open to Homeschoolers

There’s nothing quite like riding on a train, whether it’s the local steam locomotive or a high speed state of the art passenger car. We were blessed enough to ride the Shinkansen, or Bullet Train, when we lived in Japan. That’s truly like flying 15′ off the ground. It’s one of those must-do experiences when you’re in the Orient. We’ve had almost as much fun, though, riding the steam train around the large community park in our area. Trains are fascinating, no matter what their size. It’s one of the reasons that we’re first in line when an Amtrak trip … Continue reading →

Coupon Trains

A coupon train is a great way to get coupons you can use and pass along the ones you can’t use. How does a coupon train work? When someone decides to start a train, this person is called the Conductor. The Conductor will set all the rules for the train — name of the train, how many passengers, how many coupons, and what type of train it is going to be (see below for types of coupon trains). The Conductor will make a post in the Train Forum setting the rules, and if you are interested in joining their train, … Continue reading →