Boone & Scenic-Valley Railroad

Today's guest post comes to you from our friend Margaret who loves to do fun activities with her son around Iowa.  Here is a great review about her recent experience at the Boone & Scenic-Valley RR!  Thanks Margaret!

One special event at the Boone and Scenic Valley Railroad is the Day Out with Thomas. For five days in September, the incomparable Thomas the Tank Engine comes to Boone. This event has everything any Thomas fan could imagine: a 25-minute train ride in coaches pulled by a full-sized Thomas, art activities, storytelling, temporary tattoos, several train tables for playing, inflatables, photo opportunities, and more. Sir Topham Hatt makes appearances before each boarding time, too.

Tickets get you in to all the activity tents and are sold with a specific train boarding time. They come with instructions to arrive an hour early. Beforehand, I thought this was excessive, but it turned out to be good advice. Given that we had tickets for only the second boarding of the day (the second of nine!), I was surprised by how busy it already was when we arrived. Parking is at a premium because the event tents take over the entire parking lot. We found parking in the grassy area adjacent to the museum, but ticket-holders for later in the day would have to walk and might take some time for the toddler set. Boone also has a very active railroad so we had to wait for 2 trains as we made our way through town to the depot. The crew positions Thomas in a way that provides great photo opportunities. We were there in time to see him arrive and got pictures before our ride.

The train ride is 25 minutes, so the trip does not reach the high trestle bridge as in other excursions, but for a first train ride, that was a selling point. In case your child doesn't like it, you're not too far from the depot! There was a lot of waiting involved with nearly everything at the event, but the train ride required extra patience. It took a long time to board all the passengers and prepare for the trip, so we were on the train longer waiting to leave the depot than the train actually moved. Had I known, I probably would have taken one of our Thomas books to read while we waited on board. I saw parents doling out snacks and drinks to fidgety toddlers, and it is definitely something to keep in mind if you choose a boarding time around lunch or snack time. 

There are several food vendors at the event selling snacks, drinks, and food for lunch. We chose to pack a picnic and found there are several picnic tables and a gazebo near the parking area to enjoy our lunch while enjoying views of the train yard.

After eating lunch, we visited the on-site museum which is half-price for Day Out with Thomas ticket-holders. The 9,000 square-foot museum has a Thomas play table (with fewer children vying for engines!), antique track maintenance vehicles, memorabilia, model trains, informational displays, a theater, plus a library and gift shop. Admittedly, I was a bit reluctant to head in to the museum initially, but I am very glad we did. I learned a lot, it was a welcome respite from the activity just outside, and it ended up being one of the highlights of our day.


In all, this was a special treat for our Thomas fan that won't be soon forgotten. Peep! Peep!

Boone is about a 50 minute ride from Des Moines and while it might be too late to get in on the Thomas event this year, they also host Pumpkin Express train rides in October and Santa Express train rides in December.  These rides are along the same lines as the Thomas event.  Here is the full Special Events Calendar.  They also offer weekly un-themed train rides and lunch and dinner train rides too.  Visit their website for more info.