More Big Bang Theory, Autism and Model Trains

One of the more popular posts on this blog is about the Big Bang Theory, Autism and Model Trains.

I wrote it two years after first writing about the connection between some people with autism and trains, back in 2009.

I had to think of that Big Bang Theory post while checking the blog's stats today. Although that post appeared in 2011, it was in the top five most-visited posts this week.

(It also comes up near the top of a Google search for autism and model trains.)

I'm no expert on this topic. So I was glad to find another recent post on autism and model trains on the Autism Speaks, a website that advocates for people with autism.

On the site developmental pediatrician Dr. Amanda Bennett address the question: What is it about model trains?

In the post, she notes that “trains certainly seem to be a popular topic for the children we see in our autism clinic.”

As for why that is, she suggests a few reasons.

First, trains have wheels “and this will appeal to those whose sensory interests include watching objects spin. This is certainly common among children with autism.”

Second, “trains can be categorized into different models, types, sizes, etc. For some individuals with ASD, the ability to organize objects into categories is very appealing.”

Third, trains also come with schedules. “This, too, appeals to many people with ASD and is in line with a need for predictability and the inclination to memorize and recite information.”

For parents with a child with autism, model trains can offer a “an enjoyable opportunity to engage with your child – whether it involves talking about a favorite Thomas the Tank Engine video or a recent family trip to a local train depot,” she says.

This connection is one of the reasons a show like Thomas the Tank Engine is popular with some children with autism. 

Not only are there trains, but the locomotives and cars have clear facial expressions when conveying emotion, and the show itself proceeds at an easy-to-follow pace. 

I don't have a child with autism, but I know parents who do. I have had some of them over to see my layout and run the trains. It's a small, but (for me) special way I can be of some little assistance to them.

Maybe you are a parent of a child with autism who loves trains. If that's the case, I hope these few posts and links might be of assistance to you, too.

And if you are a model railroader, or belong to a club, and know of a family with an autistic child, perhaps you can ask whether they'd like to come see the trains. 

It might make a huge difference in a child's life--and for their parents. too.

A Great Place to Live (Close to the Tracks)

The tracks are behind the house.

Changes to the M & M Sub, required me to move the only house on the layout to another location.

Before the changes, the house was right beside the tracks; now it is perched on a hill above the tracks.

The trains can't be seen, but I'm sure they can be heard (and felt) by the occupants!

The house can just be seen through
the trees above the train.

The location of the house made me wonder how many other houses have unique locations beside railway tracks in real life.

Where the house is located on the layout.

I'm not thinking of the houses that back on to mainlines in almost any major town or city, but ones that occupy special places.

It would be like the house below, located beside the Altoona, PA locomotive shop, which I photographed about five years ago.

The view from the house.

It would also be like these residences in Hanoi, Vietnam. Now that's close to the tracks!

I think I would prefer the setting below, to be honest. That looks like a great place to live! Unfortunately, I don't know where it is. Does anyone know?

The house below in Toronto would be cool, too.

Of course, we model railroaders are a peculiar lot; most people would avoid a house by the tracks.

And if we can't have one in real life, we can always have one on our layouts.

Wheel Report for Operations on the M & M Sub.

Two SW9s use the Wheel Report system to
switch cars in Fort Frances.

Model Railroaders use different systems to govern operations. I use a variation of the Wheel Report system on the CP Mail M & M Sub.

I first learned about the Wheel Report idea from an article by Jim Hediger in 1984 in Model Railroader. I like it because it requires no waybills, car cards or computer-generated switch lists.

A Wheel Report basically lets the operator do whatever he wants, while maintaining a semblance of realism.

In a Wheel Report system, there is only one piece of paper for each train. It tells operators how many cars are in each train, and blocks them by destination.

Another view.

The simplicity of the system lies in how it doesn't specify where cars go once they arrive at that destination. (That’s what waybills are for.)

The only rule of the Wheel Report is that the operator needs to pick up as many cars as are dropped off.

A typical Wheel Report for M & M Sub. mainline trains looks like this.

TRAIN: WPG-DULMX (Winnipeg-Duluth Mixed Freight)

LOCOMOTIVES: CP Rail 6027, 6023

NUMBER OF CARS: 18

BLOCKS: 1-13 Duluth, 14-17 Thunder Bay, 18 local.

At Fort Frances, five cars are dropped and five cars are picked up. Then the train makes its way off to Duluth (staging).

For locals, it would look like this.

TRAIN: Fort Frances Turn

LOCOMOTIVES: CP Rail 6027, 6023

NUMBER OF CARS: 8

STATIONS: 1 Ritchie, 5 Nance, 1 Turney.

Like what happens with mainline trains, the rule is to pick up as many cars as are dropped off. Which industry each car goes to is left up to the operator. 

(Common sense helps with the decision; a tank car would go to a refinery, and a hopper to a grain elevator.)

A local passes through Ritchie.

Whit Towers, of Alturas & Lone Pine model railroad fame (1917-1999), was one of the first model railroaders to operate his layout in a realistic fashion. He called the Wheel Report the “thinking man’s” car-forwarding system. I like that description.

For operational purists, this is far from perfect. In fact, it's probably down-right irritating. But for me it provides a relaxing, simple and paper-free way to operate trains in a semi-realistic manner.  

Read more about the Wheel Report system on the Gateway NMRA website. Got to the chapter titled Realistic Operations Phase 5.

Learn how the Little Rock Line, an N scale layout, uses Wheel Reports for car routing, including automating them with Excel. Examples of Wheel Report lists are included.

Drone Video of Ontario Southland Snow Plow in Action, with Bonus Railfan Buried in Snow

I know I said I wouldn't post any more drone videos, but this one has a snow plow--and two F units, including one in classic CNR green and gold livery.

It was shot last month on the Ontario Southland Railway. The plow extra ran from Salford, Ont. to Tilsonburg, and then on to St. Thomas.

According to the person who posted it, it is the first time the F units were paired in plow duty.

Click here to watch the video. You won't be disappointed.

And after you watch that video, don't miss this one showing a railfan buried by snow flying off that same plow.

What did he expect, standing so close to the tracks?

The person who shot the video seems to have got a face full of snow, too.

Stay in a Boxcar Hotel

There are a number of hotels or inns where you can stay in a refurbished caboose. But I'm only aware of a couple places where you can stay in a box car.

One place is the Northern Rail Traincar Inn at Two Harbors, Minnesota.

Located 35 minutes from Duluth, guests can make a reservation in one of what looks like eight boxcars at the Inn.

The former SP and WP boxcars have GSSX reporting marks. That stands for Gopher State Scrap and Metal, now known as Alter Metal Recycling.

The company has a railroad division that specializes in railcar repair, demolition, sales and leasing.

Another place is the Train Station Inn in Tatamagouche, Nova Scotia.

Built in 1928 by Canadian National Railways and used by that railway 1997, today the station features accommodations in cabooses and two boxcars.

Anyone know of other hotels or inns that feature non-caboose rolling stock?