Audio By Carbonatix
Somehow, I missed all the Thomas the Tank Engine stories as I grew up. Though the Reverend W. Awdry’s tales of the plucky li’l anthropomorphic locomotive have been around for six decades, I never heard of him. That’s probably because I spent most of my boyhood playing around on real rural railroad tracks. Oh, the delightful stories I could tell about smoking Mom’s stolen ciggies on the tracks, busting beer bottles on the rails, pissing off trestles, shooting frogs with a .22 and the magical, mystery “screwin’ spot” that the older kids had in the woods nearby. Ah, the golden haze of childhood just fills one with delight. Sadly–or not–pilfered smokes and annihilated frogs aren’t on the menu of Day Out With Thomas 2009: The Hero of the Rails Tour, which pulls into Grapevine Vintage Railroad, 705 S. Main St., Friday through Saturday and April 3 through 5. Instead, good little kiddies and their parents can take a 25-minute ride on a replica of everybody’s favorite storybook steam engine, plus enjoy games, live music, bounce-houses and a whole slew of Thomas-related merchandise. Thomas departs every 45 minutes daily between 9 a.m. and 5:20 p.m., and tickets are $18. And kids, if you see some louche-looking boys hanging around beside the tracks, stay away from them, or you could end up just like me. Thomas wouldn’t approve. Call 866-468-7630 or visit ticketweb.com/thomas.
Fridays-Sundays. Starts: March 27. Continues through April 5, 2009
