All Aboard!

Attention all parents with engineers under their roofs! Put down the wooden tracks. Unhand Thomas the Train. When your living room floor just won’t cut it anymore, we’ve found three places where your future conductor can test her skills and your coalman can get a taste of the steam life.

For those with major train fans with limited attention spans, may we suggest:

Roaring Camp, CA
Explore California’s giant redwood forests from your perch on one of two historic railways. The steam train, one of the oldest and best preserved in the U.S., weaves on narrow-gauge tracks through towering tress and up to Bear Mountain. The Beach Train travels along the river, over bridge and through tunnel, to the hippy beach town of Santa Cruz and its really cute boardwalk. All trains leave from Felton, about an hour south of San Francisco. www.roaringcamp.com

The North Pole Express, MI
Hop aboard this Pere Marquette 1225 steam locomotive for a trip to Santa’s Village. The ride leaves from the Steam Railroading Institute in Owosso, Michigan, and lasts four hours, including a one-hour layover at Santa’s Village. Kids can meet the elves, shop for crafts, and stretch their legs. Don’t forget cocoa on the ride home. www.mstrp.com

Strasburg, PA

This is the oldest short-line railroad in the U.S. Trains depart from East Strasburg station, built circa 1915, and amble through Pennsylvania Dutch country. You’ll see fields still plowed by horses and mules, Amish buggies crossing over wooden bridges, and gorgeous scenery as your hulking steam engine chugs along, burning coal all the way. www.strasburgrailroad.com