KATO'S HOBBY CENTER Kato's Hobby Center in Tokyo is a must see for any model train fan. For those who don't know, Kato is a model railroad company that specializes in N and HO scale trains. They are well known for their highly detailed trains and rolling stock . During college, N gauge was all that I could fit in my small apartment. So I purchased a Kato layout and some engines, including their Union Pacific 844 and Southern Pacific 4449. N gauge trains are small and quiet, w

A Room with a View In May 2025, my mother and I took a trip to Japan. We originally planned to go after my high school graduation in 2020, but the Covid pandemic shut that down. Like many tourists, we enjoyed Japanese food and culture. We ate at plenty of tiny ramen shops (places that fit around 12 people) and splurged on some wagyu steak dinners. We also visited temples and shrines, anime hangouts, and museums, and went to both teamLab exhibitions, which were really somethin

I’m writing this during a leap year, which means we experienced February 29th in 2024. According to NASA, leap years exist because Earth...

My luck was bound to run out. I had very few problems with ordering trains online, other than a wonky Weaver Dreyfuss Hudson that my mom bought on eBay years ago. Then came Christmas of 2022. I was browsing the internet for Lionel steam engines when I spotted a used 3759 Santa Fe Northern. The seller wasn’t “officially approved,” whatever that means, but I thought it’d be fine since he had plenty of sales and great feedback. So, I asked my mother if the locomotive could be un

I was browsing volume II of Lionel’s 2023 catalog with my brain in neutral, thumbing through pages of Legacy steam engines and diesels. Suddenly, I sat up and snapped to it. On pages 46-47 , I saw passenger cars for a train called the American Orient Express. Now, I am a HUGE fan of the original Orient Express in all its forms–from the Agatha Christie book and films (David Suchet is my favorite Poirot) to the actual trains. I even got a Kato N scale Orient Express for Christm

The Circle of Choo Choo Life: I think we should make a train version of “The Circle of Life” from The Lion King because  it seems like,...

If you’re addicted to YouTube (me), then you’ve seen a bunch of Top 10 lists for pretty much everything in the history of ever. Watchmojo has probably made half of them, but plenty of random people make great lists. Since I’ve launched this blog with railroad disasters, here are my picks for best crashes in media.   Before I start, I want to mention that if spectacular train crashes are your thing, then here is a great 21 minute compilation on YouTube of movie crashes by so

Thomas the Tank Engine: Accidents Will Happen