2008 CHRISTMAS LAYOUT AT B&O MUSEUM OPENING DAY - NOVEMBER 28

FUTURE ENGINEER - This young man introduced himself as "Ben the Steam Engine Driver."  Hopefully he will fulfill his dream when he grows up.

A FAN OF THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE - This is Addison posing next to our Thomas.  Look closely and you'll notice he's holding some Thomas toys

SANTA'S STEAM ENGINE - I arrived too late to see the event, but Santa arrived in the Roundhouse with the help of this working replica of the Tom Thumb locomotive.

BIG CROWD - After Santa's arrival, there was a huge crowd of people admiring our layout.  Later in the day it got relatively quiet.

REPAIRING THE GARAGE - Normally the garage does car repair, but in this case a pair of very large mechanics are doing the repairs on the pickup truck.

OUR HOST - Manny really enjoys talking to the visitors.  He's in front of the layout, otherwise he's have to shout over the noise of the trains!

COMIN ROUND THE MOUNTAIN - Thomas is rounding the bend on Wolverton Mountain as he's done every Christmas season for about 15 years now.

SMOKIN IN THE BOYS ROOM - Well, by the enginehouse at least.  Joe gave the steam engine some track power and smoke fluid while it's warming up for a run.

NAME THE CHARACTERS - Can you name all the Sesame Street characters here? Answers are on the bottom of this page.

BIG BIRD REPLACES THOMAS - Judy set up her Big Bird Express, and we had to be careful to hide Thomas.  Otherwise there would be a howl of protest!

STEAM POWER (NOT) - At the end of the day, Tom Thumb had to go back in the Roundhouse.  Its fire had died down, so it took a good bit of manual labor!

POSING IN FRONT OF TOM THUMB - Fiona and her granddad pose between the Petersburg and Charlottesville hopper train and the Tom Thumb.

ANSWERS: Big Bird, Gonzo, Oscar the Grouch, Cookie Monster, and Rubber Duckie.