Our grandson was very excited about his sixth
birthday party. Most of the excitement
centered around the fact that is was going to be a surprise party-his very
first one! He, of course, was trying to
get everyone and any one to spill the beans.
We all employed various fabrications to put him off. I kept telling him that we were going to go
to the county jail to share a lunch with some of the prisoners, so that he
would appreciate the importance of being a good boy. He was definitely not buying that.
In any case, as we pulled into the Tennessee Valley
Railroad Museum in Chattanooga as a successful surprise to Aleister. First there was lunch in the dining car
"Greenville" which started service in 1950.
Next we had a quick tour of the engines and cars in
the museum outside display. Clearly, he
continues to like large powerful equipment.
We then had to rush to take a ride on one of the
museum's active trains. We traveled to
the repair and maintenance yard for a tour of the repair facilities and a
demonstration of how the engine turntable works. It is safe to say that he had a great
time.