Western Railroad Discussion > Family Foaming

For me, there is nothing better than watching trains with my family. When I married my wife she was not a fan of trains but now she sometimes suggests making a trip to the loop. My youngest boy, who is four, absolutely loves trains and is always wanting to go see trains. Below are some recent photos of trains and my family.

1) Two of my boys watching an eastbound BNSF at the Loop Overlook.

2) Me and my beautiful wife at the Loop as a UP north/westbound makes it's way around the Loop.

3) My youngest son watching an eastbound BNSF at the cemetery in Shafter, CA.

Thanks for looking.

Jared

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You’re very blessed!

BB

She`s a Keeper.When we bought our House in Chatsworth,in 2008,My wife had zero clue we were going to be about 300 feet from the UP/Metrolink tracks,and I`ll not forget the Look on her face when a Metrolink train went by,,and her face went ashen.I somehow convinced her it would be OK,,and it took about 2 weeks for her to accept.One night the Loaded Oil train went by and had aunit with a Nice K5H Horn.After the Rumbling subsided,she said,,"Daht was a nice one..."(She was hispanic and had a great accent).Through the years she enjoyed the occasional overnight sounds as a freight went by,and for a couple years we used Metrolink 101 going by at 5:27AM as Our "Better get up now" alarm clock.She lost a fight with cancer back in March of 2017.

Great idea for a thread and great pix Jared. I've been taking my twin boys train watching and on train rides since they were in a stroller. In fact, I posted a few pix from their first train watching adventure back in 2011 in this thread.

https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?1,2649205

Since then we've had many train-related adventures and now that they are 7 years old, their interest in it has lasted a lot longer than I expected. They have a diverse set of interests and studies and even though they have become acquainted with tech, video games, Pokemon, Ninjago, amusement parks, entertainment, and such, they still make time and have fun when dad drags them on a train watching or riding adventure.

I have tons of photos of them watching and riding trains but here's just a few that I thought would be a nice accompaniment to this thread. In the first photo set they are still in a stroller at about 16 months but enjoying the action at Fullerton. When they got a little older, I'd park my truck somewhere and let them run around in the back while we watched trains pass by, in this case at Thenard. We've also made many trips to museums, especially to Lomita Railroad Museum back when we lived in the South Bay. Here they are when they were 5 on the platform of the Santa Fe caboose there.

The next set starts out in the cab of BNSF 4279 when it was on display at Fullerton Railroad Days in April of 2016. A few months earlier, on our way home from a winter visit to Kings Canyon, we stopped at Bealville to check out the action over Tehachapi. Finally, one of the most fun activities was when they came to visit me in Alaska for a month in the summer of 2016. We had our Alaska Railroad company picnic in a little park near the depot where I snapped a pic of them just as the southbound HEX arrived in the background.

In 2016 we also moved our California home from the South Bay to Orange County, and within a few minutes drive of Fullerton Station. Needless to say, many of our adventures are there now, including days when we take our dogs to the trackside off-leash dog park near Basta.

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In the final photo set, some recents from a couple of weekend trips to LAUPT from Fullerton last November for lunch at Phillipe. Then the final two were at CSRM just last week when we visited the SP cab forward and other stuff there after spending New Years on a farm in Placer County.

I don't know how much mileage I'm going to get out of their interest in trains, but I'm going to enjoy it while I can.

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Jared --
Your boys are very fortunate to have a daddy like you, who is devoted to them anbd who shares his love of train with them. And I am glad your dear wife actually likes trains, too.

Those photos are priceless. Kids grow up so fast -- enjoy these special moments!

Wonderful images and stories. My mother and father were like that, and in my years with the railroads there was nothing I liked more than to take children who loved trains on a tour of our equipment, or showing their families where they could go so the kids could see trains. (I still do this when the opportunity presents itself...) Thanks to all who share their love of trains with the rising generation, and I wish the railroad industry would do more to show young people that there is so much more to railroading than "Thomas..."

And to CT, I am very sorry for your loss...

Best wishes,

ShastaDaylight

Great stuff. I go out as much as possible with two of my sons that are interested in trains. They are 12 and 16. My oldest son, 18, didn't get the bug and works part time so he doesn't come along too much anymore.

I find myself taking more photos of my sons taking photos of trains, than I take of the trains themselves. And I am thoroughly enjoying it.

CV the civil E in NJ

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Jared Wrote:
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> For me, there is nothing better than watching
> trains with my family. When I married my wife she
> was not a fan of trains but now she sometimes
> suggests making a trip to the loop. My youngest
> boy, who is four, absolutely loves trains and is
> always wanting to go see trains. Below are some
> recent photos of trains and my family.
>
> 1) Two of my boys watching an eastbound BNSF at
> the Loop Overlook.
>
> 2) Me and my beautiful wife at the Loop as a UP
> north/westbound makes it's way around the Loop.


>
> 3) My youngest son watching an eastbound BNSF at
> the cemetery in Shafter, CA.
>
> Thanks for looking.
>
> Jared

Always nice to share, but they sometimes don't have the patience needed for serious railfanning. Here we are at Rochelle maybe ten years ago.

Mark
Austin TX

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In May, my daughter Tiffany, her two daughters and I watched trains in Emporia.

Three weeks later, we went on a family vacation in Dallas. Most people asked for a "city view" of downtown Dallas. We asked for a "train view" rooms facing south. Nearly continuous trains. The girls and I loved it.

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CT97 Wrote:
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> She`s a Keeper.When we bought our House in
> Chatsworth,in 2008,My wife had zero clue we were
> going to be about 300 feet from the UP/Metrolink
> tracks,and I`ll not forget the Look on her face
> when a Metrolink train went by,,and her face went
> ashen.I somehow convinced her it would be OK,,and
> it took about 2 weeks for her to accept.One night
> the Loaded Oil train went by and had aunit with a
> Nice K5H Horn.After the Rumbling subsided,she
> said,,"Daht was a nice one..."(She was hispanic
> and had a great accent).Through the years she
> enjoyed the occasional overnight sounds as a
> freight went by,and for a couple years we used
> Metrolink 101 going by at 5:27AM as Our "Better
> get up now" alarm clock.She lost a fight with
> cancer back in March of 2017.

So sorry for the loss of your Wife. I too lost my Wife from cancer. This happened February 2016. She was a career railroader with Amtrak and a railfan. Truly, truly missed.

SantaFeRuss

To all the posters; these youngsters would really enjoy a visit to the local "Live Steam" RR club where they can ride on our miniature trains.
the location and links to 100's of clubs in the US and elsewhere can be found on the discoverlivesteam.com website.
For Jared specifically, my club www.ocmetrains.org give passenger rides on Sat and Sun of the 3rd full weekend of the month in Placentia Park in Costa Mesa. Next run days are Jan 20-21

Thanks for all the great pics...

Jared, Pic 3 is my favorite.

Kimball Wrote:
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> ...my club www.ocmetrains.org
> give passenger rides on Sat and Sun of the 3rd
> full weekend of the month in Placentia Park in
> Costa Mesa. Next run days are Jan 20-21

We've done a fair amount of riding miniature trains as well, including Travel Town, South Coast RR Museum in Goleta, and even the Alaska Live Steamers in Wasilla, AK. We actually got stopped in the middle of the forest by a pissed off moose on the Alaska run and had to back up all the way to the depot. The kids thought it was hilarious. I found it ironic since we clobber moose all the time at work with 1:1 scale trains. But these little trains are no match for a moose so a long reverse move was in order.

Since I winter in OC most years I suppose I should take them to Costa Mesa one of these weekends. Thanks for the reminder. Here's a couple shots of them riding, one with my wife and kids in Goleta, and the other of the kids riding through the woods in Alaska just before we got stopped by that stupid moose. Hahaha!

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Thanks to all of you for great photos of family. Jared, your first one is just super.

Future hogsheads of American railroads

I can certainly relate to this post. Many a time my late wife Debbie and I would seek out trains in the local South East Los Angeles and Orange county areas. But it was my late son Josh and I who would be mostly train watchers. Fullerton station was our favorite spot, and still is for me. Fun times for sure.

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My heart goes out to both of you who lost your wives to cancer. I too lost my wife to a chronic condition some 11 years ago, besides losing my son of 22 years some 18 years ago. We spent a lot of good times train watching and train riding. I posted a reply to this original post besides a picture of my son Josh and I at a Fullerton Railroad Days event many years ago. Our favorite spot, mine still. Time heals, but we never forget. Carry on fellow rail fans.

Family railfanning is always fun. Take it from me when I took my disabled dad out track side. Those we're the days I'll never forget. It was always a hunt for anything Conrail. Even the logo excited my dad and still does, now to get the prints made of NS 8098 for him.

I live in Brunswick, Ohio now with my lady and her three kids. Who knows, I might get the oldest one interested yet. He seems to be interested, maybe NKP 765 might seal the deal.

Pictured are my dad on one of our many outings( yes I had to get this pic of him), my lady and sister I had just met after 15 years of trying. My lady will become my wife here soon. That's how much I love her and her amazing three kids, Michael, Olivia, and Nathan..

Michael Fair
Royal Oak, MI



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/12/18 04:22 by bath_wildcat.

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