Rail models take Sunday guests on memorable ride

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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.

By KATIE SEMINARA

Kids and adults alike enjoy the choo-choo of the train displays offered by the Youngstown Model Railroad Association.

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.

“I like the small trains, but he [Zac] likes the bigger ones,” said Cindy, who thought she might have some trouble getting her grandson to leave the train world.

Janet Gram of Mineral Ridge was admiring the train cars with the Isaly’s logo and said they reminded her of the Isaly’s skyscraper cone.

“It’s very relaxing to watch the trains and for older people it brings back memories,” said Gram.

Younger visitors make memories upon seeing the displays, she said while watching her 12-year-old son Zack take in the scenery.

“It’s really enjoyable because we had trains when we were younger,” said Gram of her father’s being a model train enthusiast.

“I can appreciate what they do,” she said.

And what the members of the YMRA achieve is a daunting task.

The displays are a year-round project and involve not only mechanical and electrical work, but also an artistic touch.

Scenery around the tracks spans from downtown Youngstown in the 1950s to a carnival with working rides and hand-painted people swimming in miniature lakes.

Jan Evans is a three-year member of the association and said her favorite part of the open house is “showing off” her work.

Evans is responsible for covering the landscape with grass and trees and even set up a cornfield with stalks made of toothpicks and fabric.

The detailed scenery took most of the year, she said.

“Next year I want to do a corn maze for Halloween,” said Evans, who is also planning a ski slope with lifts and skiers for the Christmas display.

“It’s fun to belong to a club. It’s like ‘Cheers’ where everybody knows your name.”