Trains, trains, and more trains - Our visit to Thomas

So, Thomas came to town. You know, the Tank Engine. He hit up the Illinois Railway Museum in Union Illinois. You say, where is Union? I say the middle of nowhere, aka halfway to Rockford.

Anyway, there is a large train museum out there. A train museum you say, and I say yes, and it is exactly what you are thinking. Lots and lots of old trains. Initially I thought it would be a couple old trains you could check out and climb on, but they even have trains that still work, and you can ride on them. Lots of trains you can ride on. But I digress.

Thomas the Tank Engine made an appearance for 2 weekends in August. There were ads all over PBS for it, so we decided to check it out with our cousin and some friends the last weekend in August. The main draw of this day with Thomas is that you get to ride on Thomas, which as it turns out is just Thomas pulling a bunch of 100 year old train cars. Still cool if you are 3, or 30 something. Probably lame anywhere in between.

Note Thomas in the background. That is about as close as you get to the good engine. And yes, his eyes move. Creepy.

We did the ride on Thomas, and fun was had by all. Kendall loves trains, always has. The train runs by Grandma and Grandpa Gorman's house, and was always a fun activity to watch, so she knows her trains. The ride on Thomas was a good time and she enjoyed it, checking out the scenery for the whole 30 min ride.

3 week-old Cassidy even got in on the action. Because I apparently think I am superwoman, I was traipsing around a crowded train yard with a 3 week-old. It went well, but I was much more tired than I would have thought after. Not my most brilliant plan, but fun none-the-less.

We also had a chance to check out some of the other trains while we were there. Below is an old L car for Howard St that Kendall is checking out with her cousin Nora.

There was also some old signage and signals to check out. Green means GO!

And plenty of trains to check out and and explore. Both alone and together.

The train yard was super crowded with the Thomas event going on, so we didn't get to see as much as we wanted to (and Nate did not get to ask Sir Topum Hat his burning question about why he is always so cross), but we were interested enough to think about going back on a non-event weekend. I like it better when we have these places practically to ourselves and can explore.

Besides, we need to go back and find the spot where this picture was taken of Nate and his brothers back in the day. Apparently the train museum is a Greaney Family destination across generations.