Day Out with Thomas at the Strasburg Rail Road

By: Guest Reviewer Stephanie Dunkerley

Today we went to the Day Out with Thomas event at the Strasburg Railroad. It was our family’s first trip to the railroad and it turned out to be a beautiful November day. We have two boys, ages 5 (Seth) and 2 (Sean.) They both love trains and were very excited for their first ride on a real train.

The parking area for Thomas was clearly marked and all we had to do was follow the signs. We then boarded a big yellow school bus to take us from the parking area to the main entrance of the railroad. There were a lot of other families with the same idea so there was quite a crowd for this event.

We had tickets for the 12:15 pm train ride on Thomas. There were other trains leaving and entering the same station as the Thomas train. The boarding area was clearly marked with a sign indicating which time was the next to board. After waiting in line for a few minutes with two anxious boys, we saw Thomas entering the station. If you’re close enough to Thomas when he passes, you can even hear him talking!

The train ride was approximately 20 minutes and it took us through a little of the Lancaster countryside. There were lots of animals to see on this ride. The boys enjoyed having the windows open and waving at the animals and people as we passed. Luckily it was 55 degrees for our trip today!

After taking us back to the station, we had the opportunity to get our photo taken in front of Thomas. They took our photo once with their camera and once with ours. There is a tent where you can check out the professional photos taken and purchase copies, if you wish.

The one thing Seth had to do before we left was to ride the hand-crank cars. He has ridden them at other places, and absolutely loves these cars. Usually Sean does not get to ride them because he is still too little to work them properly. The kids have to turn the crank with their hands to make the cars go around the train tracks and can be difficult for smaller children to operate. However, the Strasburg Railroad gives parents the option to push the smaller kids by attaching a stick to the back of the car. Sean was able to ride the car like his big brother!

We also had the opportunity to take a ride on Thomas’s friend Percy. Percy is a green tank engine and, like Thomas, he can be heard talking if you’re close enough to him. Percy did not require a separate ticket; these seats were on a first-come, first – serve basis. We were able to get on the first train we waited for and sit where we wanted to with only a 5 minute wait. The train ride on Percy was much the same as the Thomas ride, as it uses the same track as Thomas. This ride was shorter but the boys loved it just the same. It was very cool to be on one of the trains and watch the other one pass by. We saw Percy go by while on Thomas, and we saw Thomas while we were on Percy.

Of course we had to check out the gift shops. There were several at the railroad. There were a couple that sold Strasburg Railroad themed souvenirs and other train gifts. There is also a toy gift shop that sold mainly Thomas toys and gifts, but I also saw some Chuggington toys as well. There was also a huge white tent across the main train tracks that housed another gift shop and a place to eat.

The last thing we did was to ride the miniature train. It was a bit chilly for this, since the whole train did not have a roof or sides. But we enjoyed the trip anyways!

Overall, the boys had a blast and we enjoyed ourselves as a family. By the end of the day, we had ridden 3 different trains. I would recommend this event to anyone with kids who like trains, especially if that train happens to be Thomas!

Disclosure: Stephanie Dunkerley and her family were given 4 complimentary tickets to attend the Day Out with Thomas Event at the Strasburg Rail Road in Pennsylvania.