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Festival of Trains attracts many railroad enthusiasts: Dozens visit the Old L&N Depot to browse museum, miniature trains, 1950s Model E-8Dec 07, 2008 (The Daily News - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Trains of all sizes were on show Saturday at the Historic RailPark and Train Museum at the Old L&N Depot as the sixth annual Festival of Trains drew railroad enthusiasts to elaborate displays -- not only of the railpark's newly restored diesel locomotive, a General Motors EMD Model E-8 from the 1950s, painted with L&N colors and dedicated just the day before, but big HO scale models and smaller exhibits of S, N and Z scales. Crowds browsed the gift shop and museum and inspected the ever-growing model setup of historic Bowling Green locales, but also took in special model displays in the depot's lobby and conference room. Jetron Robertson of Bowling Green and his son Alex, 9 1/2, are regular visitors to the depot. "Every time they have something, we usually come," Robertson said. On Saturday, Alex inspected one table after another as a fellow collector. "It's pretty good," he said. Others were obviously more impressed, as many parents toted wide-eyed toddlers. Drawing the most attention was the HO scale setup that encircled the conference room, courtesy of the sHOw Modular Railroad Club of Southern Kentucky. Club member Brent Arritt of Glasgow, in a C&O Railroad cap, took his turn serving as yardmaster amid the locked-together landscaped blocks, each built by one hobbyist. "Each club member, we bring our own equipment," he said. Model railroading takes a variety of skills: Arritt said he's had to learn not only handicrafts, but a bit of electronics and carpentry to build realistic, functioning settings for electric trains. His grandfather worked for C&O, and he's always been interested in trains, he said. "I guess it was the history that got me into it," Arritt said. The 30 or so club members, mostly from Bowling Green with a few from Franklin, Glasgow and Alvaton, put on several exhibitions at the depot each year, but the holiday show is always the biggest, he said. "I guess this is our Christmas present to the public," Arritt said. To see more of the Bowling Green Daily News, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.bgdailynews.com. Copyright (c) 2008, The Daily News, Bowling Green, Ky. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. |