MEDINA: Thomas the Tank Engine rolls into Medina for the fourth time

By Nicole Coleman<br><a href="mailto:colemann@gnnewspaper.com">E-mail Nicole</a>
The Journal-Register

May 11, 2008 11:54 pm

— It was train mania at the Medina Railroad Museum this past weekend at Western New York’s only “Day out with Thomas” event.
Families with little Thomas fans came from far and wide to participate in the fourth annual affair. When all was said and done, more than 10,000 visitors passed through the area between Friday and Sunday.
The same is expected for next weekend.
“It’s just phenomenal, the attitude of people,” said museum creator Marty Phelps. Dressed to the nines in his black and white conductor’s uniform, he was appointed the weekend’s “eye candy” to pose for pictures with excited visitors. “We’ve had a lot of repeaters — what I call Thomas followers.”
The event may have been a busy one, especially for the 125 volunteers and paid staff, but it was worth it to see the “gleam” in each child’s eye, Phelps said. Shouts of “Thomas” could be heard from every which way when the tank engine pulled in or out with the museum’s five passenger cars in tow.
On Saturday and Sunday, the longest days of the festival, the train took 24 trips to and from the Middleport area, said museum director Linda Klein. Each ride lasted 25-minutes and carried 280 passengers.
There were also activities enough in and around the museum grounds to keep families busy for hours: Face painting, temporary tattoos, storytelling, videos, a bean bag toss and a meet and great with Sir Topham Hat. A professional photography booth and walking maze were set up nearby.
By the tracks, little ones could stop at the Imagination Station to play with play-doh, Thomas train sets, legos and a rice table. At the gift shop tent, families were able to purchase special merchandise available only at Thomas events. Many left wearing T-shirts that read “I spent the day out with Thomas” and Thomas shaped balloons.
In the community lot across from the museum on West Avenue, a number of vendors served up grilled treats.
“The Thomas bouncy house was so popular — it’s probably exhausted,” Klein joked. It was one of the event’s newest additions and is sure to make an appearance again next year, she said.
To make the day easier for parents, there were tents designated for information, lost children and diaper changing.
“We think of everything,” Phelps said.
Inside, visitors huddled around the museum’s famous miniature exhibit. Watching people react to the exhibit’s tiny details was a great feeling for the staff who have worked on it over the years, Klein said.
On Saturday, Roger and Suzanne Holland of Indian Falls in Genesee County brought their family to the event — Rob and Jennifer Greene and their 21-month-old daughter, Holly.
They drove out because they share a particular love of trains, Suzanne said. She and her husband have traveled across the country by train twice. It affords them the opportunity to practice the bygone “art of conversation.”
While at Day Out with Thomas, they enjoyed a horse and buggy ride around Medina before riding the train.
“It was fun,” Jennifer Greene said. “(Holly) is having a good time.”
The event has drawn attention from the local media, as well, Klein said. Kevin O’Neil with Channel 2’s early show televised from Medina shortly after 5:30 a.m. Friday morning and weatherman Kevin O’Connell has plans to bring his granddaughter out this Sunday.
Preparations for the event begin in December. The staff prepares the grounds and plants flowers a few weeks before. The tents went up around Wednesday when Thomas the Tank Engine officially arrived.
Volunteers from a number of local organizations and churches made the event possible, Klein said.
Contact reporter Nicole Colemanat 798-1400, ext. 2227.

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