A Damp Nuisance

Today's Thomas event was going very well until about 1 o'clock.  It was hot and humid, as one might expect for late summer, and then a ferocious thunderstorm hit.  This has happened before, so the people in charge know what to do.  Visitors naturally gravitate to our spacious display barns, and when the Thomas train returned, people remained on the train until it was possible to leave.  The 1:30 train was delayed, but after the storm ended everything was soon back on schedule.  The lights went out in Barn 8, so I walked around with a flashlight making sure there were no problems.  Everybody seemed to be taking this in stride, and the event went on.

I put my camera away so it wouldn't get wet, so let's back up to earlier in the day.   I was tending the wye switch as before, and all of the pictures from last Saturday would apply to today.

We have the usual crowds of visitors of all ages.

The Union fire department has a fire hydrant you can play in. 

 And there's a one-man band, as I take it.

And of course everybody wants to watch as Thomas goes by.

Due to the rain, Victor decided to open our North Western bay window caboose for the visitors in Barn 8.

It had been many years since I'd been inside, and it still looks great!

Thanks!

Last night, Joel, Rod, and Richard helped me a lot by doing a switch move to put the 319 at the east end of track 83, where the 757 had been.  

And they also removed the poles.  I really appreciate this!  In this location, we can access both sides of the roof, and installation of the upper canvas should occur soon.  During the day, I was able to move the big scaffold to a position near the 319's new home, and unbolted the bases so they can be removed next.  So we're looking forward to getting the roof work finished, and I promise not to hide my light under a bushel.

And you might also like to know that the new south cutoff is nearly complete.  The rails aren't connected yet at the south switch, and it's still a bumpy ride, but it's getting close.

And Volkmann even gave us a couple of modern switch handles.  I'm not sure I approve, but I can probably get used to it.