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!