
Our Story and Our Inspiration for Making Trains Fun
In 2015, my husband, Steve, and I attended the National Garden Railroad Convention in Denver, Colorado. We were in a local hobby store where we saw a young boy at the cash register purchasing a few items. The cashier asked him what he was making. With excitement in his voice, he said he was making a load for a flat car and would be entering it in a model contest at a big train show. The cashier wished him good luck and the young boy replied, "I have no hope of winning because I'm going up against adults".
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Even though this young fellow knew he most likely would not win, he had the courage and determination to pursue his enjoyment of the hobby. This touched me and I knew I wanted to find a way to give children an opportunity to succeed and enjoy their love of trains.
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Little did I know at that time that Steve and I would be given that opportunity. Several years later, the Nashville Garden Railway Society decided to host the 36th National Garden Railroad Convention and we were asked to help. We agreed and I was asked to take care of registrations. As part of that, I proposed we offer youth clinics and a youth model contest. This had not been done in all the years we had been attending conventions, but we felt like this would be a way to get young people involved and their families attending the convention in a fun activity.
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Faced with the COVID pandemic in 2020 we had to defer the convention to 2021. Due to this, I talked with many people including a lady from Denver, Michele, to see if they wanted to transfer their registration. She said she would transfer but was not sure how many of her family would be able to attend. I asked if she had children and she said she had two boys, and one loves trains. I then explained we were having youth clinics where they could build a load on a flat car and/or paint a building and would be happy for him to participate. I also explained to her about our 2015 Denver hobby store experience, which gave me the idea of youth clinics. She said "Oh my gosh, that was my son, and he was getting items for the model contest at the National Convention".
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It's a large yet small world we live in, and you don't know when or where you might influence someone in a special way that you never know about. Steve and I along with Michele and her family enjoy trains and our wish is to give youth the opportunity to enjoy their love of trains by participating in youth clinics we are hosting at train events across the USA.
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This has happened with the help of several groups since 2021. In the spring of 2024, in West Springfield, MA, I was talked with Mr. Charlie Ro, Jr. from USA Train. He has been very supportive of the youth clinics since we began them in 2021. With his suggestion and encouragement, we will host the clinics 3 to 4 times a year across the country. ​
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​We've named the program "Making Trains Fun." We hope other train groups will join in to build young people's knowledge, skills and confidence with G-scale trains while enjoying the hobby with their families for years to come!!
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With everyone working together, Making Trains Fun for youth can happen!!!​​
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Malinda
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