Williams Family: A Ride On The Sugar Express

 

We had tickets to ride The Sugar Express, a 2+ hour round-trip train ride on the grounds of U.S. Sugar in Clewiston, Florida. 

The train was pulled by a 1920 steam locomotive that is now fueled by vegetable oil, or diesel fuel if needed.  It is one of three steam engines in the United States certified to run at 40 mph, which it did!  Stepping on board is like stepping back in time.  I kept imagining the train scenes from the movie White Christmas.  Even the lavatory on the train was a throwback. 

In addition to the train ride, sweet treats are served including ice cream sandwiches, drumsticks, and bars followed by cookies.  The ride is also known as the Ice Cream Train. 

As we were driving south on highway 27, I noticed the change from frequent populated areas dotted around lakes to more expansive land spaces featuring orange groves and cattle ranches.  We were sharing the road with a truck and trailer hauling a lovely young bull who was checking out the view from all angles and eventually laid down.  And, given the number of financial intuitions we passed on the drive, I said to the husband, "there's agriculture money here." 

U.S. Sugar Plant in the distance

U.S. Sugar, a privately owned agricultural company in Clewiston, employs 2,500-3,000 people at the plant and farms over 230,000 acres across several counties.  The plant sits on 270 miles of land west of Lake Okeechobee and has created its own wireless network that spans those 270 miles and features driverless tractors that utilize precise GPS Navigation.

The miles and miles of crops are irrigated with runoff from Lake Okeechobee through canals crisscrossing the fields.

U.S. Sugar produces sugar, molasses, and many other crops. The conductor told us that U.S. Sugar produces enough food to feed 165 million families each year. 

This was not our first train adventure or even our first steam locomotive train adventure, but it was our first with John and Diane Williams, who drove from Lakeland and met us at the train.  John and Diane enjoy searching for adventures, especially ones involving ice cream as John is a decedent, as is Todd, of the Williams Dairy family.

We ended our afternoon with a lakeside meal in Sebring at Sunset Bar & Grill.  

Click below for more Williams Family train adventures!

Riding the Rails. . . Moravia to Albia and Back

Tickets to Ride. . . To The North Pole!  Another steam locomotive trip! 

A Lionel Christmas at the Dumont Museum

The second week-end in December marks the date for the annual Open House at the Dumont Museum in Sigourney—click here to check out their web-site.

Making the trek to the Dumont Museum is one of our annual holiday traditions.  We first discovered the huge model train layout several years ago and have spent hours watching the trains ever since.

The layout has many themes, levels, and intricacies.  One has to admire the hours of work that have gone into building, collecting, and maintaining the layout.

  

The Dumont Museum attracts visitors of all ages and is a great outing for multiple generations. 

When we arrived, I told the boy he had 90 minutes.  That was just the right amount of time.

Guests are also welcomed with cookies and punch for this annual event.

When the boy was younger and smaller, we would take a plastic step stool with us so that he could see the trains.  He would carry the step stool with him from location to location around the train layout.  Last year, it was evident he didn’t need the step stool anymore, so we left it, as a donation of sorts, at the museum.  Well this year, when we arrived, we were told thank you as it had been used throughout the year.  And, ironically, we asked to use it again, as the boy found that one of our neighbors was there and needed a boost.  The owners happily retrieved the step stool for us and the boy and his young friend proceeded to view the trains.  We gave the step stool back to the owners before we left.  We know where it is if we need it!

We’ll be back next year!

Click here to read about another model train layout.

Local Bookseller and Train Enthusiast

(Guest Contributor:  The husband.)

The boy and I were invited to visit Bill Greenly's train room.  Bill is a toy train enthusiast and retired railroad engineer.  He and his wife, Donna, own and operate O'Town Books.

Bill's collection of model trains is extensive to say the least.  The boy felt he was in toy train heaven!  Although the train display in EPCOT's Germany Pavilion is one of the boy's favorite spots, Bill's layout blows it away with the volume of trains and attention to even the most minute detail.

Enjoy the videos!

Hopefully, we will be invited to see the trains again!

The Train Garden in the Germany Pavilion at EPCOT--A Story

 I was once again reminded of the boy’s love for trains and I remembered what happened in the Germany Pavilion at EPCOT in the train garden.




You see, there is a lovely train garden in the Germany Pavilion at EPCOT. Various G-gauge trains traverse the rails, go through the tunnels that are under the sidewalk, and in general, delight the guests that take a moment to find out what is “over there.”

For us, a trip to EPCOT is not complete without a visit to Germany and the train garden.  In fact, the boy’s day is calculated by how long until we get to Germany or when are we going to Germany.  The timing is crucial, as if we go to Germany in the middle of a rushing part of our touring schedule, we are sunk.  A visit to Germany is a 45 minute to 90 minute affair.

The husband and I know to look for a bench.  We know which ones have the bathrooms and drinking fountains nearby.  We often use the stop in Germany for snack, bringing turkey legs or funnel cake from the nearby American Adventure Pavilion.  Sometimes we separate for a while—leaving one of us with the boy while the other browses in the nearby shops.  We just know that our stop in Germany will be leisurely.

On our last visit to EPCOT and the train garden, the boy was somewhat distressed as the trolley just wasn’t running right.  The wheels were turning, but it would inch forward in a jerking motion.  The boy immediately began to keep an eye out for a Cast Member.  In the meantime, he would visit with the guests who were stopping to look at the trains, and point out that the little trolley needed help.

In a while, a Cast Member did appear and the boy approached to inform of the train trouble.  The Cast Member opened the gate to enter the train garden and did her best to fix the trolley.  No luck. 

Now, this is where it got interesting.  I could tell from watching the exchange the boy was just itching to make his way behind the gate and into the garden to fix that trolley himself.  He was talking to and convincing the Cast Member that he could help—he could fix the trolley.  The Cast Member, knowing that going into the garden would break policy, brought the trolley to him.  They visited for some time about what might be wrong with the trolley.

In the end, neither of them could fix the trolley.  But the boy was satisfied knowing he did everything he could do to help and left Germany happier for the experience and happier that he had had time to visit the train garden. 

****Rumor on the web indicates that someone is chosen each day near Germany, at the time World Showcase opens, to turn on the train garden.  We haven't been in that area of the park when World Showcase opens to be sure, but it is something in the memory banks in case we are ever in that area at that time.  And, it never hurts to ask.

Riding the Rails. . . Moravia to Albia and Back

We have a train lover at our house.  The obsession began before he was two and has continued to this day.  (He's behind me on the floor right now playing with trains.)  I must confess that we have continued to feed the boy's obsession with trains through various train experiences.  One of those experiences is the Appanoose County Train Rides held each summer about mid-July.   

The route begins at the Wabash station in Moravia.  Just take the Moravia turn off on highway 5 and go straight into town.  The Wabash station is to the right, just over the railroad tracks.  Here is the boy and the husband waiting for the train. (Note:  the photos in this post were from two different years of riding the train--hence the change in clothing.)

Ah, the train has arrived.  The engine is facing north, towards Albia and the two open air coach cars are being pulled behind.

Now we are ready to ride.  On year, we took Grandma Carol with us.  The open air cars have bench seating.  The round-trip ride takes about 70 minutes.  A host on the train provides information about the Wabash line and surrounding area while you ride.  The line is still used today to get trains to/from Kansas City.

During the ride, you get to cross the big intersection in Albia where highways 34 and 5 cross.  It is fun to wave to the stopped traffic as you cross the highway.

In Abia the train pulls into a siding and the engine uncouples.  The engine then pulls onto another line and drives past the cars, switches back to the track and recouples at the other end of the cars ready to head back to Moravia.  This process fascinates our train fan.

You can see the switch and the siding in the photo above.  There's our diesel engine!  Just a note:  due to the open air cars and close proximity to the engine, the horn can be startling for little ones.

The boy and the husband explored the engine when we returned to Moravia and the train stopped to unload and load passengers.

Somehow the boy talked his way into the cab of the engine.  I'm shaking my head as I write this because I still don't know how he does this.

The photo above is one of my favorites. I can just imagine that he is thinking about riding the rails.  The boy and a train!

Another successful train adventure!  Hooray!  I wonder what will be next?

To read about other train adventures and opportunities click here, here, and here!

More, more, TRAINS!

What a way to combine our passions! Disney and trains! The photo above is the boy at the Germany Pavilion at EPCOT where a lovely G-gauge train layout/garden exists. We have seen the trains during the day and at night. Disney changes the scenery a bit for each season or celebration.

The following is more information about trains:
Illinois:
Galesburg has an Amtrak station with a railroad museum just north of the station. Then, just steps away is Discovery Depot, a children's museum aptly named. One of our favorites at Discovery Depot is the water room.

Texas:
Galveston hosts the Galveston Railroad Museum. There's a working hand car, railroad cars for birthday parties, and several rooms of model train layouts. Check out the snow room and the night room. The location of the museum adds to its authenticity. It is easy to make a day of Moody Gardens and the Galveston Railroad Museum. You could add a visit to Schlitterbahn Water Park located next to Moody Gardens.

Florida:
Orlando, as a frequent stop for our family, offers much for train lovers.
Train Land International is centrally located on International Drive or as locals call it "I-drive." The location of Train Land International allows for access via the I-drive Trolley--another plus for train enthusiasts. Train Land International boasts the largest indoor G-gauge layout. There's a scavenger hunt. Outside a track circles the property for rides on their trolley.

Walt Disney World Resort has many train highlights. One is the train garden/layout located in the Germany Pavilion at EPCOT--pictured above. We typically visit this spot two or more times during our trips to the World.

Another is the Walt Disney World Railroad located at the Magic Kingdom. This steam locomotive circles the park making stops in Frontierland and Toontown. We have friends who have been selected twice to open the Magic Kingdom and ride in on the train to the Main Street Station with the characters. The "Good Mornin' "song is going through my head right now.

Magic Kingdom is home to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad a well themed roller coaster.

The Monorail also counts as a train. Part of the Walt Disney World Transportation system, the now 11 Monorails help transport guests from the resorts to the park and make stops at the TTC (Ticket and Transportation Center). Our family has ridden in the front of the monorail on 3 different occasions.

Animal Kingdom has the Wildlife Express Train which takes riders to and from Rafiki's Planet Watch. This train is designed like a steam train in the wilds of Africa, so passengers face to the side rather than the front of the train.

Animal Kingdom is also home to Expedition Everest, a train inspired roller coaster. Have you seen the Yeti?

At Wilderness Lodge, there is a room dedicated to Walt's model trains in the Villas section of the resort.

Downtown Disney has a small track and train ride for youngsters. Located next to Pin Traders, the ride-on train makes 4-5 loops around the track per ride and is a hit with the under 10 set.

Since Disney and trains go together like peanut butter and jelly, the Walt Disney World Resort offers a special The Magic Behind the Steam Trains Tour for guest 10 and older. There is a fee for this tour and special reservations are required. This tour is definitely on our wish list.

More TRAINS!

A friend called to remind us of the train show at our local mall yesterday, knowing that the boy was passionate about trains. After spending most of the day looking at/watching trains, it got me thinking of all of our train experiences and how we, as a family, have fed the obsession . . . oh, I mean passion.
Here's more information for train enthusiasts:

Nebraska:
Omaha's Lauritzen Gardens Who knew a botanical garden would be a spot for train lovers? Discovering this oasis led us to the marvelous and expansive G-gauge train garden. The trains run in and out of tunnels and across bridges--as show in the photo above. The theme of the garden is the architectural wonders of the world which includes scale size models. Lauritzen Gardens also has many other, non-train, displays both inside and outside. You can walk or take the every half hour tram. The children's garden includes plants from A-Z.

A part of Lauritzen Gardens' tram tour takes you to the top of the hill on the other side of the parking lot to Kenefick Park home of Union Pacific's Big Boy and a Union Pacific diesel locomotive. It is interesting how they multi-ton engines were placed at the top of the hill. . . what a story! Both Lauritzen Gardens and Kenefick Park are near Omaha's world famous Henry Doorly Zoo.

Also in Omaha is the Durham Museum. We first went the the Durham for Disney Christmas Carol Train Tour. We discovered that the Durham has many offerings including a model train layout, and life-sized preserved sleeper and lounge cars. The Durham has traveling exhibits and is walking distance to Omaha's Old Market District filled with shops and restaurants. The Durham is also near the Heartland of America Park which offers gondola rides across the lake.

Missouri:
Kansas City's Union Station offers much for train lovers. Year round toy train layouts can be found, but the largest layout is on view from Thanksgiving to New Year's in the main hall. One of the offerings at Union Station is the K.C. Rail Experience, a self guided tour including life size replicas.

Another draw to Union Station is Science City, a 3-story children's exploration experience. Science City has plenty to offer train lovers with the enclosed train layout with buttons to activate various pieces on the layout. The train layout sometimes has a camera feed on display with the camera mounted on one of the engines. On the top floor of Science City is the train over look with binoculars to view the trains going by and paper/crayons to take advantage of the various train rubbings.

Science City also offers a glass elevator, water table, animals, miniature golf with wind twist, a dinosaur dig site and much more!

Union Station also Extreme Screen movies--their version of IMAX--, a planetarium, and other traveling exhibits.

Connecting Union Station via sky walk is Kansas City's Crown Center shopping and entertainment district. In addition to an upscale model train store, Crown Center boasts Fritz's Railroad Restaurant. At Fritz's you order your food via the telephone at your booth and your food is then delivered to your table via overhead train. It is fun to guess which table the food is going to when the train leaves the kitchen. Shakes and burgers are the main items on the menu at Fritz's. I prefer the Jody burger on the menu. From Thanksgiving to New Year's there is large Gingerbread toy train layout on the 2nd level of Crown Center.

Next post. . . trains in Texas, Illinois, and Florida.

TRAINS!

The local mall hosted a train show yesterday and we were present for about three and half hours being mesmerized by the toy train layouts and displays. Another parent mentioned that we might run into each other often, after our paths had crossed several times while keeping an eye on our train enthusiasts. Being one to talk to strangers, I struck up a conversation sharing other train sightings and locations. The mom got out a piece of paper and began to capture train information and dinosaur information for their other son. I commend this family, as they had traveled about 100 miles to feed the passion of their oldest son. All of the happenings yesterday, prompted the topic for today's post. Here is our list of all things trains:

Iowa:
Colfax: Trainland, USA Imagine a toy train layout that takes you from east to west across the USA. We spent several hours here and brought a picnic lunch. There are picnic tables outside as well as more train memorabilia. There is a ledge/step for not so tall train viewers throughout the display.

Boone: Boone and Scenic Valley Railroad This historic train lines offers rides throughout the year on steam and diesel locomotives. Thomas the Tank Engine makes an appearance each fall. Christmas, Easter, and Halloween bring themed train rides. Hint: If you go here, plan to make a stop to eat in nearby Ames at Hickory Park! Yum!

Sigourney: Dumont Museum The photo above was taken at their annual open house each December. The toy train layout is in the lobby of the museum and there is no fee to see the trains. If you want to tour their collection of old west, movie, toy, and train memorabilia, there is a small fee for the museum. If you call ahead, you ask if the toy trains are running. The couple that run the museum are delightful. Our boy can usually get his hands on the remote that runs the Big Boy! When we come here in the summer, we combine a stop to the museum with a visit to the Sigourney pool.

Mount Pleasant: North Pole Express Located on the grounds of the annual Old Thresher's Reunion, this train runs for two week-ends in December. Tickets go on sale Nov. 1 and sell out fast. Once the train reaches the North Pole, Santa is waiting in his own red caboose with a special surprise for each visitor.

Oskaloosa: Penn Central Railroad Club Located in an empty store front in the Penn Central Mall in Oskaloosa. Both O gauge and HO gauge trains are featured. The club opens for public viewing the 2nd and 4th Saturdays of each month.

Moravia and Albia: Appanoose County Train Rides on the Wabash line are offered each July. The just over an hour round trip in an open air coach allow you to see the vast countryside and learn about the historic Wabash line. We make a day of it--riding the train late morning, heading to Albia for some lunch and a dip in the Albia pool.

Iowa State Fair: Model Railway Club typically has a display each year at the Iowa State Fair held for 10 days each August in Des Moines.

I remember when the boy was two and got his first oval wooden track with a pretty blue engine and red caboose. Somehow we knew then that trains were one of his things.

Next Post: Train sightings in other states--Nebraska, Missouri, Texas, and Florida.