Day Out with Thomas - 2023 Phillipsburg NJ

Okay, I went into this knowing it's a push-pull unit since Strasburg is the only place that has an actual operational steam-powered Thomas in the US. Half my motivation was to see what engine was pushing the whole consist, not that any preschoolers would notice. I promised not to knock it (I'll leave that to Gordon) because it brings a lot of joy to the kids who come to see it, get their picture taken, and are raptured by the fandom. Heck, if this thing existed when I was a kid, I'd be eating it up, too. A few adult fans turned out as well, but very few. I'm a lukewarm fan, as I prefer the "reality based" Rev. W. Awdry "Railway Series" material, although if they had a push-pull Henry instead of Thomas, I'd actually be a bit more interested in the character unit. Luckily, there was a lot more than just an inert Thomas to be seen and my purpose for being there was more "Photographer" than "Fan."

Thomas was pushed & pulled by Black River & Western switcher #1596 and BR&W also had their GP-9 #811 present to pull the River / Mine Train, dispatched to synchronize with the shorter Thomas train using the same trackage. I didn't see anyone playing Sir Topham Hatt, but I did find a fan dressed as Thomas as you'll see in the video. The Norfolk Southern mainline runs overhead and I spotted 4 (only filmed 2) trains crossing overhead as they went in and out of the NJ / PA crossing over the Delaware, one of which had some borrowed CSX power.

This event was held 11 to 13 August 2023, of which I hit it up on the Saturday in the middle. Ultimately I'm glad I went since as much as I'd like to see the functioning Strasburg steam engine dressed as Thomas, I'm not willing to endure that venue's crowds.

Audio clips (and the brief video clip) pulled in from outside the ambient captures probably belong to Mattel by now but have origins from various seasons of Thomas & Friends and are little relevant clips marbled into the rest of my own video and photo content and are justified by the Fair Use law. All other content ©2023 by Vivian (Vyvyan) Makin