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Contractor-Built Train is a Sidewalk Sales Hit

MOUNT KISCO, N.Y. — After all the carnival rides, vendors, and general fanfare of the event come to a close, the Sidewalk Sales Days could be said to have been highlighted by a little engine that could.

Bob Scopelliti, a local contractor in Mt. Kisco for over 35 years, is the constructor, operator, and conductor of The Number Eight, a miniature train that took children for rides throughout the Sidewalk Sales Days. Each ride was $3, and all proceeds went to the Lions Club, of which Scopelliti is president. 

The train was constructed in just over a year, Scopelliti said, made of leftover parts found after years of contracting. With a working engine in the front and a purple caboose bringing up the rear, local children could not get enough of The Number Eight. 

Scopelliti said the train’s name is representative of his eight grandchildren, who were his inspiration to make the train. He said he wished to amuse them when they visited on weekends. 

“We entertain them every weekend, and pull them around the neighborhood. It’s a lot of fun,” he said, adding that when the Lions Club was approached by the chamber of commerce to do an event for Sidewalk Sales, “it wasn’t practical to do hot dogs and hamburgers. So we tried something different, and I think it’s different.” 

With the unmistakable roar of the engine, and the sounds of giddy children, the train was certainly one of the biggest hits of the party. Scopelliti’s wife, Barbara, said she knows it is just a prime example of how much he cares for his loved ones. 

“It’s beautiful,” Barbara said. “His first love is his grandchildren. He made it in the yard of our neighborhood. He drives it around and everyone looks out the doors and wants to know who built it. My son-in-laws say, ‘he did!’”

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