AUDIENCE PARTICIPATIONS

Add to the Story

Utah National Parks Council

Have everyone at the Pack meeting sit in a large circle.  If your group is especially large, two or three separate circles could be formed.  Have one person start, stating that they are going on a train ride.  Give each person one minute to give facts about the train ride, beginning with the first person and moving around the circle.  Each person will add details to the story – where they are going, why, what they see, what happens along the way.  Having younger brothers and sisters will add to the excitement of the story.

Cub Scout Railroad

Heart of America Council

Divide the audience into eight groups. Assign each of the groups one of the words below. Read the story. When one of the designated words is read, the appropriate group makes the indicated response.  Practice as you make assignments.

CUB SCOUTS                       “Yea Den 2”

BRAKEMAN               “All clear behind”

DEN LEADER                               “Akela”

CONDUCTOR                      “All aboard”

LITTLE RED ENGINE         “Toot toot”

FIREMAN                       “Shovelin’ coal”

ENGINEER                 “Look out ahead”

TRAIN “Clickety clack, clickety clack”

One bright day, some years ago, a den of CUB SCOUTS and their DEN LEADER decided to take a trip on a TRAIN that was going over the mountain to the next town. The CUB SCOUTS and their DEN LEADER were helped onto the TRAIN by the BRAKEMAN and the CONDUCTOR. They waved to the FIREMAN and the ENGINEER who were in the cab of the LITTLE RED ENGINE.

The CONDUCTOR and the BRAKEMAN shut the door. The FIREMAN checked the steam pressure of the LITTLE RED ENGINE and the ENGINEER opened the throttle, and the little TRAIN moved down the track.

All was going well when the LITTLE RED ENGINE ground to a stop. The CONDUCTOR and the BRAKEMAN and the FIREMAN and the ENGINEER all stepped off the TRAIN to help push a stubborn cow off the track. With this chore done, the CONDUCTOR stepped back on the TRAIN. The BRAKEMAN shut the door. The FIREMAN checked the steam pressure on the LITTLE RED ENGINE and the ENGINEER opened the throttle, but the LITTLE RED ENGINE would not budge. The ENGINEER had stopped the TRAIN half way up the mountain.

The load was too much for the LITTLE RED ENGINE. The CUB SCOUTS, eager to give goodwill, and the DEN LEADER, with the help of the CONDUCTOR, the BRAKEMAN, the FIREMAN and the ENGINEER pushed the TRAIN with the LITTLE RED ENGINE to the top of the mountain.

And so ends our story of the CUB SCOUTS with their DEN LEADER and their trip on the TRAIN with the LITTLE RED ENGINE manned by the CONDUCTOR, BRAKEMAN, FIREMAN and ENGINEER, over the mountain to the next town, where their parents met them. Everyone was happy because working together had brought them safely over the mountain.

Train Depot Adventure

Heart of America Council

Divide the audience into four groups. Assign each of the groups one of the words below. Read the story. When one of the designated words is read, the appropriate group makes the indicated response.  Practice as you make assignments.

PAUL -                    "WOW! Great! Neat!"

TRAIN –   “Choo Choo, Chuga Chuga”

DEPOT -                       hold nose and say
                        "Now arriving on Track 5."
                                       Or “Ticket Please”

DEN -                          "Yea, Cub Scouts!"

When PAUL heard that his DEN was going on a field trip to the DEPOT, he was really excited. Nothing was more fun for PAUL than TRAINS, and DEPOTS were full of them! The DEN prepared for the field trip to the DEPOT by learning about TRAINS and engineers and the other types of jobs that people do at DEPOTS and on TRAINS.

They played with a model TRAIN set and talked about how the DEN should act when they went on the field trip. It was decided that the DEN would use the buddy system and each Cub was paired with a buddy for the trip. PAUL's buddy was to be John. They were good friends and PAUL was pleased. The whole DEN could hardly wait for the DEPOT day to arrive.

Finally, the great day came. PAUL met with the rest of the DEN at the DEN Leader's house. She and her assistant divided the boys between the cars and made sure everyone was in his seat belt. But PAUL noticed something. John was not there. When PAUL asked the DEN Leader about it she told him that John was sick and would not be able to go to the DEPOT to see the TRAINS with the rest of the DEN. This made PAUL sad for about two minutes. He was too excited to be down for long.

Soon the DEN arrived at the DEPOT. The boys and leaders met with their guides and soon they were looking all over the DEPOT. They saw the baggage area, the security area, and learned about how TRAINS were scheduled.

They were a little unhappy when the DEN was not allowed to take a long ride in a TRAIN, but when the guide told the DEN that they would be able to go onto a real TRAIN, PAUL, especially was very happy.

It was hard squeezing all the DEN members into the TRAIN’S engine. PAUL slipped into the engineer’s seat as the guide pointed out all the controls. He was fascinated by the TRAIN and did not notice when the rest of the DEN went on with the tour without him. Remember, his buddy wasn't there. Suddenly, PAUL, found himself all alone. He ran out of the TRAIN and into the main DEPOT, but the DEN was nowhere to be seen. Just before he began to cry a security officer found PAUL. This time being in the security room of the DEPOT was not so much fun. He was really glad when his DEN Leader answered the DEPOT paging system and found out where he was. It was a TRAIN adventure none of the DEN, and especially PAUL, would ever forget.

The Transcontinental Train

Heart of America Council

Divide the audience into six groups. Assign each of the groups one of the words below. Practice as you make assignments.  Make sure everyone knows to respond at the word Train.  Read the story. When one of the designated words is read, the appropriate group makes the indicated response.

Train (ALL)                                         "Toot! Toot!"

Conductor:                                            "All Aboard"

New York Doctor:                     "New York City!?"

Penn Steel Worker:                          "Man of Steel"

Southern Belle:                                          “Hi, y'all"

Texan:                              "Remember the Alamo!"

Kansas farmer:           "The World's Breadbasket"

Just before the transcontinental TRAIN was ready to pull out of Grand Central Station, the CONDUCTOR held the door for one more passenger, a NEW YORK DOCTOR who hurried aboard. The TRAIN moved slowly between the tall buildings, out of New York, through New Jersey and on to Pennsylvania. The CONDUCTOR checked the ticket of the NEW YORK DOCTOR as the TRAIN pulled into the Pittsburgh Station.  A Pennsylvania Steel Worker boarded the TRAIN and sat across the aisle from the NEW YORK DOCTOR.

The TRAIN wound through the Appalachian Mountains, by rivers and through forests down to Atlanta. The CONDUCTOR greeted a SOUTHERN BELLE who boarded the TRAIN. She smiled at the PENN STEEL WORKER, and sat behind the NEW YORK DOCTOR.

The TRAIN picked up speed as it left the mountains and crossed the delta lands of Mississippi. The CONDUCTOR paused to look out the window with the SOUTHERN BELLE, as the TRAIN traversed a long bridge over the Mississippi River. It arrived at the hot springs in the midst of the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas, as the NEW YORK DOCTOR and the PENN STEEL WORKER played cards.

The TRAIN crossed into Texas and stopped at Dallas, where a young TEXAN boarded the TRAIN, showed his ticket to the CONDUCTOR, tipped his hat to the SOUTHERN BELLE, and took a seat.

The TRAIN moved north through the rolling hills of Oklahoma and through the wheat fields of Kansas, stopping in Wichita where a KANSAS FARMER and his wife boarded the TRAIN. The KANSAS FARMER shook hands with the NEW YORK DOCTOR, and sat beside the young TEXAN, as his wife smiled at the PENN STEEL WORKER, and sat next to the SOUTHERN BELLE.

The TRAIN turned west, moved up steep mountain passes and through the snow-covered Rocky Mountains of Colorado and Utah. The CONDUCTOR checked his watch as the TRAIN sped out of the mountains and into the desert of the Great Basin in Nevada.  The TEXAN and the NEW YORK DOCTOR admired the large trees, as the TRAIN wound through the Sierra Nevada Mountains and the Redwood forests. The TRAIN pulled into its final destination of San Francisco, California, where the CONDUCTOR said goodbye to NEW YORK DOCTOR, the PENN STEEL WORKER, the SOUTHERN BELLE, the TEXAN, and the KANSAS FARMER.