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Serving God and Others in Porterville, CA USA

Reynolds Family & Trains…

History: Steve’s family grew up with trains—model trains and riding/photographing full-sized trains. Jason and Nate had O Gauge and G Scale trains. Andrea and Kristen have or had G Scale.

Model trains:

--S scale: My dad got my brother and I started with S gauge model trains made by A.C. Gilbert under the name “American Flyer”. Seemed like every Christmas, we got another train. We’d set them up in the living room (and sometimes the dining room, kitchen, hall…) and have fun. Then the trains would go back in boxes ‘till the next Christmas. When we were young, Dad built a layout in the bedroom my brother, Greg, and I shared—a pedestal was placed in front of the door and a trestle went in front of the closet doors, so the trains could run all the way around the room. Setting it up and using it was a hassle and the layout didn’t get used too often. As we got older, Dad built a spot in the garage and we moved the S scale layout out there.

--HO scale: When I got a bit older, I started buying HO trains. I tried to build a layout with them in my bedroom on the roadbed formerly occupied by the S scale trains.

--O scale: I’ve seen pictures of the O scale tinplate railroad my dad had in his attic at 810 W. South Street in Salina, KS. I was given an old tinplate O scale train and occasionally set it up on the floor.

--G scale: Late ‘90’s or early 2000’s, Cindy gave me a G scale train made by Bachman; during a trip to Solvang, we started buying G scale trains made by LGB. Those now get set up occasionally in the living room. When we join my brother at Lake Arrowhead at Christmas, he brings some of his G scale trains and we have a “memory lane” party. One favorite activity the girls started is called “message train”—as the train runs around the room, people put messages on flat cars. Others pick up the messages and put in new ones; entertaining!

--71/2” gauge/ridable miniature railway

: While I was in elementary school, dad got a copy of the Little Engines catalog—live steam engines and rolling stock that you could ride on! Also, my uncle Sam told me about the “Pee Wee” Railroad he and his friends built when he was young and my dad got a copy of an advertisement for a train called a Yardbird. I spent lots of time dreaming and drawing pictures; nothing materialized ‘till 2002 when we got a ride-on speeder, car and track from RMI in Fresno.