The Royce Files

The following is a fictional account of a fictional character concerning a real item that I unearthed in a real store recently.  In between his debut on the big screen and he periodic returns, Mr. Vader acquired a math teaching licensure from an online correspondence school. I think it may have been Southern Dakota University since the Dark Lord of the Sith has been rather evasive when it came describing to his additional training. His LinkedIn just lists a SDU with coursework listed as "Maths."  Following that educational turn, Darth took a position as a Youngling Numeric Inquistator at the Dantooine Force Institute for two terms. Scant records exist of his time at the Institute because months following his dismissal, the school mysteriously disappeared from all charts. Literally obliterated from existance. One mech droid was uncovered years later and scanned. From that scan a few Vader records were recovered. The Institure was impressed with Darth's wielding of maths bu...

  A Marx Rock Island E7 passenger train derailed at the Spud Valley Show as it made the turn just beyong the Glendale Station crossing. No fatalies were reported.  Another October in Fargoland and so another Spud Valley Model and Toy Show arrived. Again it was held at the fairground in West Fargo and nearly every foot of space was filled with a model train layout or a vendor selling model train items or paraphenalia. A lot more layouts this year than ever. Even a substabtial N scale one. We don't get much of that up here. In addition to the train related items there was a substanial amount of vintage and/or collectible toys such as this Marx roadside rest service station.  I did not get much. A photo of some Burlington Northern engines in front of the Fargo Great Northern Depot, LifeLike train station details, and some Lionel parts. Then some vendor just gifted my daughter a battery operated train and track.   It looked to be a well attended show and the fairgro...

  BNSF 87 carries the name Skagit River and has been a track measurement car from at least since 2006. I found it in Fargo on cool late winter afternoon sitting on the mainline (former Northern Pacific) about a quarter mile from Dakota division HQ. These tracks parallel Main Ave through Fargo on the north side of the road. This car is former a Southern Pacific bi level commuter coach 3702 built in 1955 by Pullman. In 1985 this coach along with a few of its 'brothers' in the low 3700 series of bi-levels were sold to excursion line Transcisco Tours . 3702 was renamed Donner Lake for their Sierra 49er Express. Transcisco Tours did not do well financially.  In the early 1990s Burlington Northern grabbed up a handful of these bilevel cars from Transcisco to rebuild and put into their business fleet. As this point 3702 was renamed Skagit River, given the number  BNA 33  and painted in Burlington Northern business livery. It took on the aluminum look following the BNSF merg...

  Home Alone was a big hit in 1990. Actually it was a massive success. For nearly 2 decades it was the highest grossing live action comedy film. And success usually begets a sequel. Culkin and much of his movie family returned for more in 1992's Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. Lionel Large Scale also returned in a big way in the film and this time in its natural setting- a full layout at a toy store. There are 3 noticable toy train varieties in the Home Alone 2 scene in Duncan's Toy Chest- a Brio wooden train set, a large ride on/in train (which you almost miss), and Lionel Large Scale. The Brio gets a bulk of air time due to its placement on the set but the cameras does not dwell on it for long. That large ride on one may very well be a small amusement ride. It blends into the background and gets a few seconds. I have seen one in the guise of Thomas the Tank engine in a train show video someplace. However, for approximately 11 seconds, the Lionel trains are in the foreground ...

  Lionel Trains have appeared in numerous TV programs and movies. Usually these are of the 3 rail O scale variety. Let's look at an often overlooked Lionel product line that received some air time in classic movie. Having cornered the market for O-scale 3 rail trains (or at leasting thinking they did), in 1987 Lionel decided to step into the G-scale train business by creating a line of trains and accessories called Lionel Large Scale. They were not quite typical G-scale proportions like G-scale manufacturer LGB (which I think was something around 1:22.5). Lionel Large Scale was somewhere between 1:24 and 1:29. A bit fuzzy on size compared to prototypes but they still ran on the common G-guage 2 rail track using DC power.  Lionel never seemed to be too serious about the G-scale market. They put out a few new sets every other year and had a few accessories.  By the mid 1990s the line was floundering despite the addition of an Atlantic engine and GP-9. They even released an ...

During the last week, 2 turkeys decided to make my backyard their home. I only have chickens in my backyard so these fowl were invasive. I ended up chasing them away into another yard. Then they returned a few days later. Typically the turkey in the area are found down by the river- about 2 miles east. I had a turkey come through last summer. It strolled through and moved on quickly.  Then the other day I discovered that turkeys come in numerous types- although I am sure there are 2 species: wild turkey and ocellated turkey. These species are found in the western hemisphere. Europeans have classified some fowl as turkey coq or turkey hen since traders from the region around Türkiye  brought the birds to Europe. However, these definitely look like the birds we call turkeys in North America. Breeding may have brought out distinct traits in these birds. May you American enjoy your turkey this Thanksgiving. And if you are Canadian, I hope you had a pleasant Thanksgiving back in Oc...

  The story of the 353 goes back to 1971 according to the Rollag 50th year show book. It was purchased and then a little over 10 years later it was ready to move on Rollag's Steamer Hill. A lot of volunteer hours went into restoring the engine and laying out the track and grade on the show ground. The 353 is a former Soo Line and then ran in private service for a few years until it wound up at the Minnesota Transportation Museum. It is at that point some Rollag fellows found out about it and convinced the Rollag show that a full-size engine around the grounds would be a great attraction. They were right. This train to no-where circles the grounds and carries hundreds, maybe even thousands of guests, each year during Labor Day weekend.  On the grounds, the train passes 3 depots- the former Hickson, ND depot, the former Hitterdal, MN depot, and the Baker MN depot. There might also be the remains of the Buttzville, ND depot but I am not sure. The building that is used as a restro...