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Model Railroad annual open house features Kids & Trains
AUSTINTOWN
The Youngstown Model Railroad Association’s annual open house Saturday is a “remember when” event for the older visitors and an “oh, wow” moment for the children and grandchildren they brought with them as they see models of the trains that used to frequent the area.
The model railroad association’s open house continues from noon to 6 p.m. today, Nov. 12-13 and Dec. 3-4 at the club’s building at the intersection of Raccoon and Four Mile Run roads in Austintown. The cost is $4 per person and free for children 11 and younger accompanied by an adult.
Two complete layouts are on display - “O” scale and the smaller “HO” - each with over 100 scale miles of track.
The “HO” layout is undergoing renovation, and the completion of a steel mill complex and its track work are in the process of being built.
The new passenger station depicts the original home of the Youngstown Model Railroad Club, and the New York Central Railroad station that was downtown Youngstown is complete.
The “HO” layout, located on the lower level, occupies an area of about 30 by 60 feet.
In addition to the model trains, it features a variety of industries, urban areas, mountains and wooded settings.
A display representative of a four-block area of downtown Youngstown in the late 1950s includes replicas of Pennsylvania Railroad’s coaling tower from Girard, the Model Railroad Club’s first home, and the New York City passenger stations.
There is also a steel mill complex, representative of the golden age of steelmaking in the Mahoning Valley, a club representative said.
Dean DeMain, vice president of the “HO” section, said the club, which was founded in 1957, will celebrate its 60th anniversary next year.
DeMain said he inherited his interest in model trains from his father, John DeMain Jr., who operated Amer’s Hobby Shop in Youngstown from 1990 to 2015.
James Pope, president of the Youngstown Model Railroad Association for the past 10 years, said model railroading has been his hobby since he was 2 when his father set up a standard-gauge Lionel model train around the Christmas tree and he inherited that train.
“It’s awesome,” said Erin Acklin of Austintown, who brought her children, Teagan Hoover, 7, and Audrey Acklin, 4, to the event.
“It’s a nice quality-time activity to do with your grandchildren,” said Janet McEwing of Boardman, who brought her grandson, Cole Lewis of Poland, to the open house. Cole is the son of Amber and Pat Lewis.
And for those who look closely, you’ll see in the “HO” level a passenger car named Pride of Youngstown.