Who Knew Model Railroading Was So Fun?

My father-in-law built an incredible model railroad in his basement. One look and you know it was built with meticulous care by a very creative person. At any family gathering, it’s always a highlight when Grandpa takes the kids downstairs to run the trains.

My son wants to carry on the tradition and build his own model railroad. We have a finished room in our basement and Grandpa has been over several times to build the wooden train table (about 12 feet long!), and measure, order and create the track layout. Now we’re just about up to scenery.

As this model-building was going on, I’ve been minimally involved. While it is a fantastic hobby and a really cool thing for my son to do with his grandfather, it wasn’t my cup of tea. Or so I thought.

Today we started creating mountains out of sculptamold - a paper-mache-type substance that has the consistency of oatmeal. And people? It was super fun! I suddenly became inspired to mold and shape my raw material into the very essence of a snow-capped mountain, complete with ski trails carved down the side.

I consider myself pretty creative and I can see how I might get hooked on this new hobby. L & I are already planning the next stage of the design: the road that will stretch from the baseball field to the train station.