A memorable ride at YMRA

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FAMILY AFFAIR: Frank Carbon of Boardman and his son, Gregory, 2, watch a model train round the bend during the YMRA event.

AUSTINTOWN — Zac Cunningham of Austintown is only 5, but knows what it’s like to drive a train.

He stepped into the shoes of a conductor and got an engineer’s view of the railroad at the Youngstown Model Railroad Association’s 2008 open house on Sunday.

“This is the first time he’s been here,” said Zac’s grandmother Cindy Cunningham, who brought him to the open house.

He especially liked watching the footage from the engine with the camera on the front and the coal cars, she said.

The displays take up two floors of the old Four Mile Run Christian Church in Austintown and feature O scale and HO scale trains.

Some of the trains on display are more than 40 years old and the scenery surrounding the track is ever changing, said Dave McNeil, a YMRA trustee.

About 500 visitors watched trains move through tunnels, pass cornfields and ride over bridges during the weekend.

Read the full story in Monday’s Vindicator and on vindy.com