Today my wife and I took our kids to see the ExpoRail Museum's "A great passion for model trains" day, and I met someone who personified what I believe to be a great ambassador of our hobby: Jacques.
There were at least four O scale layouts on display, but none more engaging than Jacques (who's also "Trains up north" here on the forum).
He had his O scale layout all setup, and rather than the usual running, and going around, and around, where you just watch, his was interactive.
Kid's would come to line up and activate the accessories:
The push buttons would make a plane fly, characters move in and out, lights go off.
Even my two engineers got into the spirit:
He'd set up demos of a Lionel missile firing and blowing up a boxcar, a rocket taking off, or a UFO spinning:
Even parents got into the spirit, trying to film their kids reactions:
...and that's what made me notice: he was doing an amazing job showing the "fun" part of our hobby by entertaining kids.
At their young ages, and heights, these trains looked awesome - and who knows, maybe the trains will have an impression on some of them like it did for the majority of us forum members when we were young?
I even got to talking with Jacques; a great person to talk to, and his stories were a delight to listen to, including the circus train whose rolling stock he scratch-built. His passion for 3 rail trains is amazing.
Here's a clip:
Jacques was doing what I was trying to do for my kids, showing them fun with trains, but to a much wider audience...and it was great to see!
That's why I think he is a hero to the hobby - thanks Jacques!
Mark
