Tomorrow (Thursday) is Thanksgiving Day in the United States. While tomorrow is the day this holiday is recognized in the U.S., the meaning behind the holiday is universal to all people: recognition that we have much to be thankful for!

The original event in the U.S. was held by pilgrims to celebrate the fact that they had survived: survived a perilous crossing of the Atlantic Ocean; survived the process of founding a colony in the New World; survived their first winter - over half that had set out from England did not survive until spring.

Those that did survive had much to be thankful for. In today’s world, we also have much to be thankful for. Generally speaking, today we live lives of luxury compared to the pilgrims, no matter where we live.

We can indulge in hobbies such as model railroading and the other activities we enjoy because we typically don’t have to concern ourselves with basic survival and I would like to take this opportunity to recognize that fact.

Despite the issues we face in our lives each day, we are truly blessed. I am thankful for my family, my friends, and for all the other blessings in my life including the opportunity to share this hobby with you.
Please take a few moments to think about the blessings in your life, whatever they may be.

Happy Thanksgiving Day!

Rick

Q & A
I've added a Questions & Answers section to the Nav Bar:

There are a lot of questions and answers posted by other model railroaders. There are still a few unanswered questions, so if you have the answer let me know and I'll get it posted.

Links
I've added a few more websites to the Links page. If you want to suggest any other helpful websites, please let me know.

Videos
I've begun to add videos to the site. There is one video currently embedded in the sidebar but I have also posted an article with six videos that I made during the Circus Trains event at the Twin City Model Railroad Museum last month.

Here are some articles that have been posted since the last newsletter:

Twin City Model Railroad Museum on Saint Paul Community TV
This video tells some of the history of the Twin City Model Railroad Museum much better than I can. [read more]

Videos from “The Circus Moves by Rail” show at the Twin City Model Railroad Museum
Last month, I told you about the “The Circus Moves by Rail” show at the Twin City Model Railroad Museum scheduled for October 10th and 11th and said that I would follow up by posting pictures of the event. [read more]

Pictures from “The Circus Moves by Rail” show at the Twin City Model Railroad Museum
Last month, I told you about the “The Circus Moves by Rail” show at the Twin City Model Railroad Museum scheduled for October 10th and 11th and said that I would follow up by posting pictures of the event. [read more]

Sharing is Caring!
At the bottom of each blog article is a tool that allows you to share articles you like with others:

If you hover your pointer over this tool, it will expand to show several icons. Each icon represents a social networking site or blogging related site. Example: the first icon is for Facebook; click on the Facebook icon and you can share the article on Facebook (assuming you use Facebook) with your friends.

There are icons for Twitter, MySpace, and many others. Feel free to play around with this, but let me know if you encounter any problems.

This month I've posted a number of articles that you may find helpful:

How Model Train Classification Yards Work
Most model railroaders have far more cars (rolling stock) and locomotives than they can possibly operate at once. One option is to . . . [read more]

Planning A Small Model Train Layout
When you plan a small model train layout, it’s important that you know the limitations the small space imposes on you and your model train set. [read more]

How To Avoid Model Railroad Derailments
Are you frustrated because your model trains derail from time to time? This was a major frustration . . . [read more]

What Model Railroaders Get From The Hobby
If you ask model railway enthusiasts “what appeals about the hobby?” you’ll get a variety of answers. For some model railway enthusiasts, it is a way of re-creating a fond childhood memory. [read more]

How Model Train Track Works And What Can Go Wrong
Model train track consists of two metal rails separated by plastic tie sections. Each rail carries one side of the electrical circuit. [read more]

How Model Train Locomotives Work
A locomotive runs by picking up an electrical current from the metal rails through metal wheels that ride on the rails. The electricity is transferred from the wheels to the motor, which causes . . . [read more]

I'm in the process of adding even more videos to the site.