Happy Holidays to you all. I know I have been MIA but I promise, after the new year, I will be back blogging. For now, I did find something I think you might be interested in. It's local and FREE!!

Happy Holidays,
Hugs and Kisses,
Lisa






Photo taken by Millard Berry, Press & Guide Newspapers.


Story by Jodi Rempala, Press & Guide Newspapers.

It began with a vision and 525 pounds of gingerbread. Executive Chef Kieran Savage at The Dearborn Inn has hand-crafted a gingerbread train and station on display in the hotel’s lobby....

Check out the rest of the article at the link below. It is free and open 24 hours.
http://www.pressandguide.com/stories/122108/loc_gingerbread001.shtml

http://www.kalmbach.com/kpc/default.aspx?c=a&id=292

Commercial from the 70's promoting the rail road hobby....

O gauge speed !
and I think Dave approves....
( click on image for a better view )

Missing?

I know I have been missing for sometime but the holidays are in full swing. Today I had a few minutes and I found this article. Now mind you it is almost a year old but I went to the website and the museum is still open. Maybe if your near Kalamazoo you can take a tour...


Seth Giem, 73, still loves to play with trains. Over the past four decades, he has created the 3,000-square foot Portage & Southern Railroad. Mark Bugnaski / Kalamazoo Gazette

Jeff Barr wrote:
PORTAGE -- "Along the shore of Lake Austin, tucked into Portage's southeastern corner, Seth Giem has created a world of his own. No cliche here. The owner of The Train Barn, a hobby shop and museum of extraordinary proportion, has spent the past 41 years forming mountains, building bridges, constructing buildings and laying track. Oh yes, laying plenty of track."

"The miniature railroad and its surrounding community has grown to more than 3,000 square feet, with approximately 2,500 feet of track -- that's almost half a mile. It has more than 250 train cars, 30 engines and more than 100 switches. The mountains consist of 10,000 pounds of plaster, there are 40 tunnels, about 250 buildings and 75 bridges -- including the 12-foot-high, 16-foot-long centerpiece of the railroad, a replica of the Royal Gorge Suspension Bridge near Colorado Springs, that took Seth Giem 350 hours to build."

To get the full story, and to find out how to get to the museum, please go to the website.
http://www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/2008/01/train_man_continues_passionate.html

Neat Pictures

Did you all receive the email from Mr. Corley? He sent us a Google site that has pictures from the Life Magazine. Here is the link for all the images.
http://images.google.com/hosted/life

Here are 4 from the 1880's that I really liked. Don't forget to look at the houses, streets or people in the background.

Enjoy, Lisa



Well-dressed men and women walking on the promenade of the Brooklyn Bridge.

Location: Brooklyn NY, USA
Date: April 30, 1889
Photographer: Wallace G. Levison



Aerial view (taken from a boarding house) of police w. a drunken woman in a wheel barrel.

Location: USA
Date: September 28, 1884
Photographer: Wallace G. Levison


Snow-covered train tracks, rooftops and arches of the Brooklyn Bridge seen from the rear of a train during the Blizzard of 1888.

Location: Brooklyn NY, USA
Date: March 14, 1888
Photographer: Wallace G. Levison


A young girl and boy visiting w. a man and his performing parrots and cockatoos outdoors at Coney Island.

Location: Brooklyn NY, USA
Date: September 19, 1884
Photographer: Wallace G. Levison

Nice Christmas video.
( and yes it has a train at the beginning )

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psd19YV8-Ww&NR=1

Poor Len .....