REGINA -- A Regina grandfather built a working railroad in his backyard, to give his grandchildren hands on experience with trains.
Larry Mything was looking for ways to spend more time with his grandsons.
“When I retired, I was looking for a new hobby,” said Mything. “I thought I could include the grandkids in it and the train idea came up and it went from there.”
A few years ago he built a set of train tracks in his backyard, creating “P and E Railroad” named after his grandsons Parker and Evan.
Mything says the time with his grandkids is something he is cherishing. Evan and Parker play a big role in building the track every spring.
“I try to include them wherever,” said Mything. “They can run a drill, helped with wiring. Painting’s another story with a little kid though.”
Evan and Parker can drive the train and connect it to different cars around the track, similar to a real railroad. They can make track changes as well.
The railroad has its own crane and even provides grain service. The train itself has switches to control lights, its whistle and steam.
But Evan says his favorite part is making the train go fast.
“Going super fast because that hill over there is kind of hard to get up,” he said.
Mything says it’s the memories he’s making with his grandkids that is his favorite part of the track.
“Just them enjoying it and seeing them grow up, and seeing them work with their hands instead of watching electronics, we’re actually building something,” said Mything. “I think anybody who can spend time with their grandkids and build stuff, it’s a positive thing.”
Evan and Parker say sometimes it’s a struggle to decide who will drive but they do their best to take turns.
