St. Albert Catholic Church

When in Heber Springs, be sure to visit Ruland Junction to see all sorts of toy trains.  Owners belong to St. Albert parish.

Greeting Friends,

 "Sneak Preview" of the Grand Opening of Ruland Junction Toy Train Museum to parishioners at St. Albert Catholic Church. The weather was wonderfully cooperative, eliminating worries about what to do with bulky coats or snow encrusted boots and such. Some people stayed for two hours or better.  Several calls were made to friends - "You gotta come see this !!"  LOTS of pictures were taken. The attached shots are by Pegge (our graphics guru) with my camera. For the most part, kids were well behaved.  There were only two minor mishaps:  Wayne says Fr. Mathew can't come back. He apparently missed the: LIBRARIES - HANDS ON / EVERYTHING ELSE - HANDS OFF signs, and was seen playing with several toys.  Deacon Bob caused a minor derailment when his camera strap caught the corner of the locomotive running on the Standard Gauge layout.  Why is it always the BIG kids you have to watch?  It's a good thing there's a penitential service coming up soon.

 Initially, Wayne ran a Standard Gauge train (the first floor is all Standard Gauge), a Lionel # 318, green, with the 200 series freight cars, employing a little fancy track switching, reverse looping... with yours truly flipping an occasional switch.  Then he moved upstairs to run a Lionel Berkshire with a string of passenger coaches and a Lionel Erie Alco with a small string of freight cars.  I stayed downstairs, running the train for a few loops every time a new visitor arrived (with NO fancy footwork! - I'm still learning).  I never made it upstairs.

I've become rather jaded by the overuse/misuse of the word "awesome", but somehow it didn't bother me yesterday.  Pegge says she heard it at least a million times.  There were many queries about "coming back",  "bringing a friend...."  It was a most rewarding day !  I am so proud of Wayne and what he has almost singlehandedly accomplished !!  I know Ed and Margaret would be proud !!!

 I hope you enjoy the pictures. I think a few of them really capture the "feel" of the day.  Comments are welcomed.  Visit RULAND JUNCTION in the New Year          Susan