Big Engines Don't All Look the Same

When Elwood was five, his parents had given him a Lionel train set for Christmas. Each Christmas, for the next decade, Elwood would awake Christmas morning to find his Lionel engine pulling a few more new cars.

When Elwood learned the local Model Railroad Club would be having a show at the high school, he decided to take the twins. He hoped they would enjoy railroads as much as he had when he was their age.

The visit to the model railroad show was a success. Much to Elwood's delight, Lucy and Jacob were fascinated by the little trains, the gates that went up and down and the realistic scenery. Lucy particularly liked the N scale trains which were so small the engine could fit in her hand. Jacob liked the garden scale trails, which he thought, were almost large enough that he could ride on them.

On the way home, Jacob asked what real steam engines looked like. Elwood, who knew Edgar Mead, a lover of railroads, had published several books with pictures of locomotives; decided to stop at the bookstore.

When Elwood asked the clerk if she had any of Edgar Mead's books with pictures of locomotives, she said "Yes!" and then said, "Did you know that Mr. Mead died unexpectedly this year? If you want any of his books, now is the time to get them. Unfortunately, there won't be any more Edgar Mead railroad books."

Wanting to make certain he had Edgar Mead's books before they became out of print and unavailable, Elwood decided to purchase Trains and Trolleys, Trains & Trolleys Volume II, The Concord & Claremont Railroad, The Woodstock Railroad, Narrow Gauge to the Hills, Stories from the Two Foot Gauge and On the Three Foot Gauge.

When Elwood and the twins got home, Elwood got out his books before they were out of print and unavailable.

After making three cups of hot chocolate, Elwood handed Jacob Trains and Trolleys and handed Trains & Trolleys Volume II to Lucy. Both books contained pictures of dozens of different locomotives. Elwood told the twins there were hundreds of different engines. He asked the twins if they could see some of the differences.

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