The Loud Horn Train

Gigi took me and Garrett to Tyler to the Discovery Science Place and on the way back we got to see a freight train in Mineola, TX. After the freight train passed the Amtrak passenger train came through. We thought we had missed it because it was scheduled earlier but it was delayed.



Then we met Martha. She runs the station at Mineola and helped us figure out a fun day trip for Thursday. More on that later.

Grainbelt Freight Yard, Clinton, Oklahoma

Here's a clip of video that arti73662 took on a trip through Clinton. Do you recognize the place?

Christmas Delebrations and Trains

Just discovered some trains that are part of the Christmas season in Washington D.C. Staff and volunteers prepare the White House, the people's house, every year and this year First Lady Michelle Obama has chosen Reflect, Rejoice, Renew as the theme. What that means is to think about all the things we have to be thankful for; to be happy about all the things we have; and to renew things like get together with friends and to reuse/recycle everything we can. Some 5th graders from public schools 22 in New York.



The Botanical Gardens does displays made of natural plants and they have a couple of terrific trains.



and the caterpillar train.


Which one do you like best?

Mineola, TX Train Station

This is the Mineola, Texas Train Station is near where Papa and Gigi are moving soon.

The Station has this great caboose out front.

Papa David let Gigi take his picture on the caboose.
While they were there they got to see a big freight train pass through.

So, Dylan, how would you like to bring your mom, dad and brother and take the train to Papa and Gigi's house?

Snow like I've Never Seen

Check this video out - I think you'll like the surprise and hope you feel better soon.

--Gigi

Trains Plowing Through the Snow

Dylan, I know its summer but here's a really cool train video with a snow plow on the front of the engine. Have you ever seen a train with a snow plow on it? The description says it was recorded in Goodland, Kansas so I put in a map from Clinton to Goodland so you could see how far it is. My friends Sue, Tricia and Orvella live nearby in Colby, Kansas. You can see it on the map.

What do you think of the video? It looks like the land is even flatter in Goodland than it is in Clinton! How deep do you think the snow would have to be for the train to not be able to go through?

New Train Pix

While on my way to Checotah last weekend I saw the train making its way north and moving really slow. I dashed up ahead of it and was able to get these pictures. I'm sorry I didn't have my video camera with me Dylan - it would have been great video. The train had lots of cars and looked like it was hauling some kind of rock. See what you think.

You can see more if you click here. New pictures are at the bottom of the page.

This is engine 8422 and Engine 4355 from Union Pacific. I couldn't find other pictures or video of these specific trains but will keep looking. Maybe you and Mommy can look too?

Engines in Muskogee, OK

Pictures Gigi took with her iPhone for me when she was in Muskogee, Oklahoma.

Cool train

Dylan and Gigi are looking up cool train videos on YouTube. We found this one.

A Cool Set of Tracks!

Dylan sent an email asking:

Gigi, can we add this video to my website? I like this big track. Love, Dylan

Here you go Dylan.


You're right - this is really a cool set of tracks!

Gigi rides the train in Washington

Gigi went to Washington DC this past week for the Inauguration of our 44th President, Barack Obama. She tried to take some video and pictures for me of the Whistle Stop train trip from Philadelphia to DC but the security was extremely tight and it grew dark before she could get to anyplace where she could see the train. Luckily, lots of other people captured video like this video from Elkton, Maryland, and this person who is standing really close to the train tracks, and this roll through at Edgewood, Maryland. (Photo of Capitol: JCKole)

She went to the concert on Sunday on the Washington Mall - which is not a shopping mall but it's what they call the area from the Capitol all the way down to the Lincoln Memorial. She really liked seeing Oklahoman Garth Brooks jazz up the crowd plus there were lots of others like Sheryl Crow who performed with Wil.i.am and Herbie Hancock, U2, Usher, Shakira and Stevie Wonder, Pete Seeger and Bruce Springsteen, Beyonce who did a remarkable rendition of America the Beautiful .. and lots more.




On Inauguration day she got up early (5:45) and caught the subway with friends to North Farragut station ... can you find the station on the map? Then she walked over to the Mall. There were about 2 million people there, the largest crowd ever. The Metro also moved more people than ever before at a little over 1.5 million! Here's some pictures of what Gigi could see from where she stood at the Washington Monument.


The best image of the Inauguration is this 3-D image from CNN that you can zoom in and around so you can see lots of details and the next neatest photo is this satellite photo showing the Mall earlier in the morning.

Gigi came home on Thursday. She took the train back to the airport in Baltimore so she took some pictures of the trains for me. She got on the train at the station in Gaithersburg, Maryland at about 7:00 and then rode down to Union Station. Then she got on another train, the Vermonter, that made a stop at the Baltimore airport.Gigi is happy about getting to attend the Inauguration and be with so many people who believe our country needs change and that the way President Obama thinks about and approaches problems will help us find new and different ways so that more people can have a better life. He says to "right the wrongs you see and work to give others the chances you've had".

She always likes taking pictures of trains for me too. She thinks trains are a great way to get around. Maybe we'll get a few more out here in Oklahoma?

Kids Train at Muskogee Mall

Gigi made a trip to the Arrowhead Mall in Muskogee last week. It is about a half hour from her house down at Lake Eufaula. She took some pictures of the little holiday train inside the Mall for me.

There only one engine and a caboose but they go pretty fast. The engine has a cool bell you can ring if you sit in there.

They'll be taking it down soon and putting it away, until next Christmas season. We've added 69 train pictures to our collection on Flickr.

And here's a couple more pictures from the Mall trip.

Trains at Papa and Nana"s

Gigi and Papa stayed with Nana and Papa over the holiday. The morning after Christmas Gigi heard the train. There's switching tracks that run behind Nana and Papa's house so Gigi took these pictures for me. There were four diesel engines, this one is Farmrail 4079.

Trains Blocking Highway

As Papa David and Gigi drove through Kansas two weeks ago they had to stop for a train blocking the road for a little while. Gigi thinks they were in Coffeyville, Kansas. She isn't sure because she was reading and not paying attention while Papa was driving. Gigi took pictures from the car. She wanted more pictures but cars were starting to stack up behind them and Papa was a little anxious since they didn't know which way the train would move next or how long the road would be blocked. As it turned out it the train went forward for awhile then backward then forward again ... so it was blocked for at least 5-6 minutes.

Here's some more pictures of the train.

Steam Trains - Could They Come Back?

Here's a video about steam trains.

A train ride

My Gigi is on Twitter (@coyenator) and she follows Chris Brogan who has a little boy who likes trains too. His dad posted these neat pictures of their train ride on Twitpic.






Now I gotta get my Mom to send my Gigi some pictures of me and my little brother on the train at the park by our house. Thank you Mr. Brogan for showing this cool train.

Along Lake Eufaula, Oklahoma

Papa and Gigi took a trip to Lake Fork Texas and saw this train crossing Lake Eufaula, Oklahoma. This was taken just south of the town of Eufaula. Papa stopped the car and Gigi went to the trunk to get the camera out of the suitcase and take this video. I hope you like this one Dylan. How many cars do you count? How many engines? What catches your attention? Can you see the lake in the background?

Astros Train at Minute Maid Park

Papa and Aunt Cara took this picture of the train that is at Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas - home of the Houston Astros. They are Papas favorite pro baseball team. Papa says he used to listen to the Astros on the radio with his dad when he was a little boy. Aunt Cara's favorite player is Hunter Pence. The train is inside the ballpark!

The 8162 going by Gigi's Lake House

Finally! Gigi was able to get some video of a Union Pacific train that runs the track near the lake house by Onapa Road, McIntosh county, Oklahoma. While driving to Checotah to mail Uncle Cody's birthday card, I spotted the train. So, I pulled over and grabbed the Flip Video Ultra camera and took this video (a little more than two minutes). This is Engine 8612, heading south from Checotah toward Eufaula on June 14th.

I didn't take time to count the cars Dylan but it would be great if you would do that. What do you notice about the train? How many engines did it have? What do you suppose it was hauling? Where was the caboose?

Train Crashes

Gigi and I have been looking for videos about train crashes and I found this one. I think its cool when the train doesn't stop and the single. I like the part where it falls off the track. I wonder why the conductor didn't stop when he saw the red light? Maybe he was trying to make it to the switching track? Gigi read the description that goes with the video to me and it says no one died in the crash - that's good.