Big Boy

Did you read about the big train coming through Utah last weekend?  I did.  It was an engine built to cover the steep climb between Ogden and Evanston called the Big Boy 4014.  It has been sitting in a train yard in Pomona, California for 50 years, but recently they began restoring it.  It had a brief stop in Ogden Sunday and Monday, so the kids and I took a little Sunday afternoon drive to visit it.  We were not the only ones - the place was packed!

Cole's first obsession in life was with trains.  It was rather fortuitous for us to live so near the train station.  We'd stop into the museum fairly regularly when he was little.  He took a million pictures on Sunday and had fun looking at the big train.

Ben was thrilled.  He kept stooping down to peer underneath the train where the workers were examining things and fixing things.  He's added that to the list of jobs he'd like to have when he grows up.  He had a bit of a hard time remembering its name and called it "Big Guy," "Big Joe," and "Big Boy" pretty interchangeably.  He volunteered to say the blessing on Sunday dinner later that evening at Grandma Donna's and forgot to actually bless the food, but did include a thank-you that we got to see Big Boy.   

Annie is clearly not a train enthusiast.  She tolerated the event, but it was obviously not her idea of having fun.  And little Molly entertained herself by finding all the visitors who had brought their dogs along (which was a surprisingly large number of visitors) and kicking her legs in delight whenever she spotted one.

The day couldn't be finished without me re-telling my kids about the time a large train was coming through Cache Valley on a Sunday afternoon.  Grandpa Max loaded us all up in his blue Cadillac and we drove over to watch it.  Before the engine came, we laid pennies on the tracks.  It felt like an earthquake when that big train thundered past.  When it was gone, we went out to the tracks to find our pennies.  There were none left on the tracks, but we found them lying in the weeds and rocks nearby, smashed completely flat. 

 

I keep mine in my jewelry box and think of Grandpa Max whenever I pull them out.  

 I'm kind of like Annie.  A big train isn't really my idea of fun either, but I do love a good memory.  Hopefully my boys will remember Big Boy.