tofuwatch.com

Looking beyond the packaging: What is this?

So in the world of packaging and without rolling your mouse over the image, here’s a question: What are you looking at?

Clear plastic boxes that are perfectly stacked one on top of another with black lettering on white pieces of paper?

You’re looking at the inside of Seattle’s Train Center, the only locally-owned model train store that I know of that also has a weather posting on its Web site (scroll to the bottom of the page).

Here, this railroad crossing photo gives you a better visual cue:

I took these photos a few months ago.

My wife was teaching. So, my son and I were driving around in the car.

We spotted a few nice images in the night.

Then, I saw the outside of this train store and its lights drew me in. I circled back, stopped the car and walked inside.

Inside, we chatted with the woman behind the counter. She was friendly and she didn’t mind that I took some photos.

I told her about how the trains in the store reminded me of my childhood and that I’ve always been fascinated by trains and how they haul goods and people.

In Seattle, it’s easy to spot big, colorful engines - some orange and black, others red and silver.

I’ve been fortunate to ride passenger trains in the United States, Europe and Asia. There’s nothing like being stuffed into a local train in China for about 45 hours or so, sitting next to chain-smoking men.

But hey, it’s a great way to chat with people since you have time and there’s really no place to go.

A word of advice: It’s best to take these types of trips before you have a kid since, well, second-hand smoke isn’t the best thing for you.

Inside the Train Center, I spotted solid replicas of those big engines pull freight and passenger cars from one end of a country to the other.

The woman was kind enough to turn on the circular train track – which hangs from the ceiling, so you have to look up – for my son’s enjoyment.

Thanks – we appreciated that.

I also spotted some train books and magazines, which reminded me of some travel literature I saw at the airport last year.

I like how the Train Center also lists a schedule for classes on how to make cool train scenes and links to the United Northwest Model RR Club.

The club links to numerous photos of model railroads in action.

And if Martin, my childhood friend, is reading this, take note that the Train Center links to Corgi cars and trucks.

When we were growing up, a toy store near our houses sold Corgi toys.