Livingston Lines has moved from the freeborn single star of Texas to the prairies verdant of Illinois.  Yes, you read correctly.  We are now based in Illinois.  This move comes after quite a bit of thought, and it is believed to be for the best.  And by “we,” I mean “I.”  I, Michael, am still the sole proprietor of Livingston Lines.  “I” missed snow and the rest of the seasons.  The warmth of Texas is nice, but I grew up in the Midwest with all four seasons.  Texas’s fall just doesn’t have enough color to suit me, and it’s spring doesn’t look very springlike.  There’s not enough new green to it.  Winter just doesn’t really exit in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex.  It feels good to be back where my love of trains began.

With the move comes a complete change in atmosphere and pace of life.  Dallas was always running and speeding and colliding with itslf and its neighbors.  Crawford County in Illinois is much calmer and relaxed.  Everything is much more spread out, and everyone moves slower, here.  I don’t have to drive over fifty miles per hour if I don’t feel like it, and there are always three or four ways of getting from anywhere to anywhere. Having more options besides the interstates is super nice.

The model railroading scene has also changed drastically.  Where once I could find almost a dozen clubs within a fifty-mile radius, I am now lucky to find one in the whole county.  As it so happens, there is a new model railroading club called the Crawford County Model Railroaders. Their present home is the Palestine Public Library in Palestine, IL.  The club is right at two and a half years old, so it has plenty of room to grow its membership and local presence.