The Good Ol' 999...

 I have a copy of a family photo from either the Nineteenth Century or the Twentieth Century. It's a photo of my mother's grandfather, a man who worked as a train engineer in Ogden oh those many years ago.

The photo is interesting because he's sitting atop a miniature steam engine, The 999. Today, I arrived at Lagoon early and went for a discovery walk. The walk took me to Pioneer village, specifically to the Train Museum. There, under glass, is the very steam engine my great-grandfather worked on.

The good ol' 999.

There were other people meandering in the museum and I wanted to shout, "Hey--my great-grandfather worked on this very thing over one-hundred years ago." Maybe they would be interested, but most likely they would think me some sort of lunatic attention-seeking weirdo bragging about my ancestry.

Since my relative worked on the machine, I wonder how many other hundreds--perhaps thousands--of hands have worked the gears, the bolts, the boiler, the many many parts. I wonder how many other people could burst into the museum and say the same thing I did.

The little steam engine has existed before many of the trees in the valley were planted. It existed before most of the homes were built, the roads paved, the gardens planted, the children, grown. Yet, it survives and is not no longer used to transport excited children and adults alike. No, it's served its purpose...

Just like my great-grandfather's job of making it go.

I found that interesting today while on a walk through history.