Open house the true gem of train show
The annual Scale Rails train show was the place to go this past weekend to shop for the best new and used model trains and accessories.
But to see what these train sets can become with work and imagination, you had to go to the club depot’s open house, which was included in the admission price.
The train show once again brought record crowds to the Shriner’s Temple on Hanson Street in Fort Myers, which featured nearly 100 vendors who did a lot more business than in years past with the increased attendance and improved economy equaling lots of sales.
Jim Overman, train show coordinator, called Saturday’s show, the first of two days, a huge success.
“We were very crowded in the morning, with a steady stream of people until 1 p.m., when it tapered off a little, which always happens,” Overman said. “This crowd seemed to be interested in buying, and that made the vendors happy.”
The change to spring has also brought new members to the club, which is at an all-time high. It has also brought women to the club for the first time.
Patti Wilsey, a snowbird from Ohio who winters in Punta Gorda, and Teri Krantz, of North Fort Myers, have been invaluable with their attention to detail when it comes to working on the trains at the depot or for the raffle layouts.
“I saw the club on AOL that it was open. I went in and saw only men and I said I didn’t want to be the only woman. I found Judi, who was part of the club, so I joined,” Krantz said.
“The beauty of the club is that you cannot leave there without having learned something that day. It’s amazing,” Wilsey said.
Of the nearly 1,000 people who came to the show, about 20 percent of them took advantage of the open house about four miles up the road at the Scale Rails Depot on Piney Road in North Fort Myers.
What they saw was amazing, three levels of model trains that showed a scale rendering of the train stations in San Bernardino, Calif., Denver, Pueblo, Colo. and other areas.
Along with the running trains were downtown depictions, as well as that of deserts, forests and other areas.
“People can see how the trains run,” said David Howe. “We’re running the upper and lower levels and building a narrow-gauge extension of the Rio Grande,” Howe said. “People there can see how we build a layout. At the show they can see what they could have. Here they see it in action.”
The expanded layout will take about a year to finish, Howe said, though a train was running through the lower level.
John Taylor, a model train enthusiast from New Hampshire said he started with trains at age 10 and that the layouts were fabulous.
“What they’ve done and continue to do is amazing. The scale of it and the intricacy and craftsmanship,” Taylor said. “I do more with buildings and backdrops than the trains. My background is architecture and it creates and ambiance of the whole thing.”
While model trains are more popular with older people who remember them as a child, some younger people are getting into it.
Ryan Hofacker and his father, Robert, from Estero, came out of curiosity and said the layouts were interesting.
“It’s interesting to see how much work can be put into such a hobby and how it can grow over time,” Ryan said. “My dad has been doing this since he was a kid.”
“The creativity and the time they put into making it lifelike and realistic. They do a great job,” Robert said.