Bright Lights (and a Xmas Train) in Stanley Park

This a fantastic annual event in Stanley Park that raises funds for the Vancouver Firefighter's annual burn fund. The firefighters must spend days, probably weeks, preparing all the model displays and thousands of lights. It truly is a wonderful sight in the evening. My son just loved it.

The only downside this year was the temperature, which was hovering below zero the night we attended. Piles of fun though for kids (and families) who love trains.

One forewarning: tickets are hard to come by. On weekends, they usually sell out well in advance. According to some, they apparently release half the tickets for each evening at noon, which you can order over the internet. If you miss these, you have to make the trek down to the park in person to buy them. Of course, because of the demand you have to go early. We bought our "8:30-9:00pm" tickets at 3:30 pm for example....

The Xmas Train at Lougheed Mall

Every year in advance of Xmas, the trains from Burnaby Park descend on Lougheed mall. Its a great little set-up, with free rides (by donation actually) that circle the large Santa set-up. We've been two years in a row now and my son just loves it. Of course, after more than half a dozen rides, my son still wanted more.....

Let's just say it wasn't a pretty sight when we had to leave... :)

A Train-Infused Birthday

For those Vancouver-based parents seeking a good theme for their childs birthday party, I'd highly recommend Confederation Park...What could be better than very cool miniature trains to ride on all afternoon? The site is very pleasant--they provide good tents in the event of bad weather--and very affordable (~$75). You also get a handfull of tickets for the party goers. I believe additional rides are ~$1.50 each. It was a real hit with our little guy, who probably logged a good 20 rides in the 2-3 hour stretch we were there. Check it out for next summer!

Let me know if you've got any other good train-related ideas. Im already wondering what we'll do next year....

One caveat: The park is only open during the summer months.

Good link: http://www.findfamilyfun.com/burnabycentralrail.htm

Thomas Recall

Greetings all--I'm sure many of you are already aware, but I still thought it worth highlighting the recent recall of Thomas items due to lead paint issues. I've posted the link on the sidebar for future reference, but here it is again:

http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml07/07212.html

In case you're wondering what items are involved, I've pasted a picture below.



Note that not all items are in the above picture (Notice "Red" theme) as the recall was expanded after this first photo was issued. See the link above for official info!

Cheers, Steve.

Live Train Videos - The Real Deal

While Thomas is certainly #1 in our household, my son also loves to gander at all other sorts of trains. Here are a couple good live videos of real trains in action.

1.) Mid-West live Compilation - Dont be put off by the rock intro - this is a good compilation of several trains from the mid-west. Running time is north of 9 minutes. Provides ample time to get a quick chore done while the little one admires the different trains! :)




2.) Viginia & Truckee Steamer - Quick Clip of a vintage steamer. Run-time: ~20 seconds.



3.) Norwegian Electric Train - Nice setting. Cool electric train with solid whistle! Run time: 45 secs.




Let me know if you've got any favorites! I'll add the "Link List"

Scrambled Eggs!

Thomas & Gordon

Happily Ever After

Dirty Objects

Up And Running!

Greetings Thomas Fans!

My intention for this blog is to provide a good assortment of Thomas-related resources. My son, who is currently 3 yrs old, is a definitive Thomas (and general train) junkie. He loves the trains, the movies, and generally everything related.

Of course, now that he is becoming computer aware, it has opened up a whole new medium to watch and learn about Thomas. In order to amalgamate all the great movies, sites, etc. we've been using on-line, I thought this could be a good venue.

I hope you find it useful.

Cheers, Steve.