Making a dream come true

[Steve DeGaetano]

A few weeks ago, we got word about a little 4 year old boy named Preston in the area with terminal leukemia. One of his dreams was to run a train on our railroad.

So, as an organization, we all stepped up and got a small train ready for him and a small group of family and friends. It was terribly heartbreaking--Preston know's he's sick, but he doesn't know he's likely to die, or when.

Preston got to run the train the length of our 4-mile railroad and back. I feel honored to be part of the team that made this happen.

http://www.wral.com/news/local/notewort ... id10780664

[Steve]

That is really cool. Great of you guys to make that happen for him. Always good to know that there are still nice people in the world.

Hey Steve, did anyone ever tell you that you look just like your avatar?

[Dave Van]

Making a difference.......

[Roy]

That was a very fine thing you and your friends did, Steve. Here's hoping the little one gets his miracle.

[ktulu]

Why do I always watch these videos at work...had to close my door. Thanks for sharing this Steve, and thanks to you and the other volunteers for making this happen!

[CP173]

That is both heartbreaking and inspirational. (And the kid has his priorities straight: trains before Tebow.)

Great job making that happen, Steve! Your whole crew is to be commended.

[coasterkev]

this is just the best thing that can happen. kids deserve the world and you gave him his. keep up the good work.

[Cannonball7]

Truly a touching story... I am so glad that you and your fellow volunteers, Steve, were able to bring such joy to this little guy's life with a train.

[p51]

Echoing what everyone who reads this must be feeling, that’s great that you were able to do that for the little lad.
I live somewhat near a steam operation in Chehalis, WA and I go down there to ride once or twice a year and chase trains on lazy Sundays from time to time. There’s a little kid who has some substantial medical issues (he looks really stunted and has to have someone carry some kind of tank and hoses) and I swear he’s there most of the times I happen to swing by there. The crews treat him really well. They ran Easter Egg hunt trains on the 7th and after they did some switching at the end of the day, they invited him into the cab with (I assume was) his father for the final positioning moves before they dropped the fire. It’s equally heart-breaking to see a kid in that kind of shape and heart-warming to see how he’s treated at the railroad.

[Roy]

P51,

I recently saw a piece on the news about another child who always needed a tank close by. He/she had a specially-trained dog to carry the weight of the tank. Perhaps you might tell the train crews about that, so they can pass it along. The story should be on the CBS News website.