An Inside Glimpse

We got an inside view of two important rail cars. On the left page below is the standard display at Steamtown. It's an original US Mail railway car. You can see the bins and sorting table inside the car as the postal workers would sort as they moved from town to town. Then we got a chance to ride in a caboose. The quarters were VERY tight and Thomas ended up sitting on the floor. Like the Dinkie train, it was a quick ride out and back, but still fun.

This was a quick layout to put together. I didn't follow any particular sketch. The pages are from the CM Trains collection and feature the photos at the top and bottom and the red/white border. I just had to place the photos between the striped borders, journal a bit, and add the decorative sticker to the right page.

It's So Small!

In the museum area, we found a rusted-out version of a small engine called a "Dinkie". This was memorable to me as the intersection just below our house was called the Dinkie when we lived in South Fork, PA. We discovered it was so named because when the area was being mined, the employees boarded a small train there to take them to the mining site. That train was called a Dinkie and the name stuck! In addition to that antique though, was a new and functioning engine and they were giving free rides on it behind the museum. We all piled in for a 5-minute ride out and back.

I based this layout on a sketch I had saved from Even More Scrapping. I always like her sketches because she includes measurements. I chose yellow and red as the main colors based on the photos (especially the old caboose and the Dinkie engineer's bright shirt). For the contrast piece, I used a scrap of the train and tunnel paper (which I think is actually for Disney World's Thunder Mountain ride). I debated the small squares on the layout and then, as I was browsing my punch catalog, realized that the engine and cars from the CM train punch would work perfectly. I had to stack the punched shapes on the left as I didn't think a vertical train would look right, but the overall effect worked for me. I added a couple of other train stickers and die cuts from my stash to finish the layout.

The Ring of Fire

One of my favorite parts of the trip was a walk back to the repair shop. They highlighted the process for replacing wheels which have an inner and outer layer. They heat the outer layer by setting it on fire. This expands the ring and then it is maneuvered over the inner wheel. As the fire is extinguished the metal contracts and seals the 2 pieces together. My dad indicated he does something similar when working with model trains, only using a cigarette lighter, not an acetylene torch! To cap off the experience, the engineer and his guitar-playing sidekick sang the Johnny Cash song "Ring of Fire". Another highlight was seeing "Connie" written on the engine being repaired.

After joining Meggan and Tessa's August 2023 Power Hour, I made this layout. Meggan's layout included all these circles so when I thought about the "Ring" of fire, I knew I needed to put the layout to work. I chose a few photos that could be cut into circles. I continued to use the CM Trains paper pack but added a few other odds and ends from my stash. By finding some papers with photos or small images that would fit the circles, I could make a richer layout. I had cut one photo (the one of me pointing) into 4x4 before realizing it should stay 4x6. I added a piece of punched train track to fill that gap. You'll notice I turned the papers so that the arcs almost complete a circle across the layout instead of a wave as Meggan's layout did. What's your favorite layout you've made? Feel free to comment here or post on my Facebook page.

On the Right Track

My nephew Thomas was there, but he doesn't like to be photographed so I had him take the group shots. These are just a few of our group photos through the day and a couple of the engines on display. This weekend is a time for Steamtown to highlight how important rail was in building the US.

I based this layout on a pin I had saved. I moved the tracks to the bottom of the page and then added the red and white striped border stickers to the top. Those are supposed to resemble the arms that hold traffic back when a train is coming to a crossing. I used cardstock as the base and cut some train track paper to cover the middle and act as mats for the photos. The right side includes a trading card I obtained at the site. I mounted that with photo corners so that I could remove it in the future if I like. I had one large die cut remaining from the CM Trains pack. I took a cue from another layout and used it as a journal box by mounting it on some ruled paper. The title is created with letters from a very old Club Scrap pack. Though it was to be a school theme, I mixed the fonts to create a little interest along the pages.

Railfest

My next park visit was in September 2018. Steamtown NHS was hosting its annual Railfest. As my dad is a train fan I suggested we meet there to enjoy the day. The visit included both my nephews and my Mom as well. We had a great day exploring all the extra trains and displays for this event.

This was not a particularly fancy layout. I chose a piece of yellow cardstock for the base and just arranged a couple of photos and the brochure to start these pages in my album. I had my wristband for the day so I put that in a memorabilia pocket. I chose to mount that first on train-themed paper and then attached it to the page. My favorite element on this page though is the use of the train die cut as a journal box. I had an extra set of track stickers and it fit that die cut perfectly! When writing on a dark background I use a white gel writing pen.

A Little Surprise

 One of the buildings I visited looked, from the outside, like an adorable cottage. I thought I would walk in and see more beds, cooking items and other memorabilia. But what I got was quite different!

If this looks familiar, you'll probably remember that I posted it as a bonus post a few weeks ago. Click here to see the original post and the sketch it was based on.

And here's the reminder that what I got inside was NOT the cute house but a tool shop! But hey, that's historic too!

The Quilter's Cottage

 I found the quilting ladies in the building marked as a boarding house. You can tell if they are present as they hang that red and yellow quilt flag. They were very nice but had almost finished for the day so I didn't spend too much time with them. I did enjoy walking around the boarding house. I'm rather proud of my perspective shot of the pump through one of the window panes. 

I based this layout on one of the CM Summer Challenges. The idea was to use a border punch in multiple ways. I used 2 punches to make the borders across the top (the home punch and a barn punch). I then used the home punch to make a decorative mat (not crazy about the ones on their sides but it worked out in the end). And then I used the heart punch-outs from the houses to decorate the bottom of the page. The paper design is based on a sketch from the June 2023 CM Virtual Crop (scroll to sketch 3). I continued to use the Burlap and Lace papers and stickers. The red cardstock was almost a perfect match for the red in the quilter flag and the water pump handle.