Model of perseverance

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LEWISTOWN - With two different rooms filled with enough model trains to make FAO Schwartz jealous, the Mifflin County Model Railroad Club's set up this year is quite the sight to behold.

The railroad club had a minor setback in October after a burst waterline caused some minor damage at their basement headquarters located in the old Montgomery Ward building, at 3 West Market St. But all was not lost and once again the club continues to persevere through yet another brush with bad luck.

Over the nearly two decades the club has been in existence, there have been several incidents that caused the club to relocate, which included everything from a fire that destroyed their entire model layout in 1989, to the most recent waterline rupture.

Now, the club members consider themselves fortunate to have a base of operations that will last for the foreseeable future - complete with good insurance to protect them from unforeseen mishaps, like the waterline break.

Model trains are synonymous with the holiday season, found under Christmas trees and in toy stores around the world. They remind young and old alike that sometimes the nicest things in life can be those things we associate with the simplest of pleasures.

Helping bring those simple pleasures to the public on a much grander scale, members of the model railroad club work diligently every year to bring a little more joy into people's lives during the holiday season.

What started as a club with only three members, has grown into an organization with roughly 30 members.

"(We) took in three new members in the last month," Club Treasurer Gerald Hummel said.

This is the busiest time of year for the club, who have been hosting open house events since the beginning of the month.

Hummel said there have already been about 4,000 visitors this year alone, which is a strong out.

He added that he is grateful for the support and hopes the remaining weekend open houses are also well attended.

This years model in the larger room is a Pennsylvania theme, complete with scenes from places like Burnham to Harrisburg, and it weaves back and forth throughout the room and utilizes nearly all the available space.

The intricate details of the layout, range from an eagle in a tree placed as part of a replica of the Lewistown Narrows, to a scaled down model of the longest stone arch bridge in the world, located outside Harrisburg.

Model Railroad club member Bill Corbin said there are many parts of the layout that people will almost immediately recognize.

Hummel said that across the hall is the smaller of the two layouts in a separate room, but this is the one the kids get real excited about. "We let the kids run these trains and they love it ... the kids like the smoke and whistles," he said.

"We have a new circus train this year as well," he added.

Hummel said that on the final weekend of the open house on Dec. 26 and 27 the show will feature trains that are very popular with the younger folks like Thomas the Tank, Harry Potter and the Polar Express.