[September 19, 2011] Wiregrass model train show draw crowd Tweet Sep 19, 2011 (Dothan Eagle - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Nineteen-month-old Henry Cotton smiled as he called out choo-choo and watched the trains circle the track Sunday at the Wiregrass Model Railroad Show and Sale. Asher Cotton attended the model train show with his wife and two sons, 5-year-old son Cade Cotton and Henry Cotton. Cotton returned to the show for the second time with his son, Cade, and brought Henry for his first trip to see the trains this year. "We mainly wanted to see how he (Henry) would like it. We knew Cade liked it," Asher Cotton said. "One of the vendors gave him (Henry) a little train car, and he tried to put it on the track." Cotton said they have an old train set he grew up with as a kid that they pull out and put around the Christmas tree each year. "It's really cool, there's one over there that's a stock yard that has cows and they're mooing," Cotton said. "Cade's got a Thomas (train) set at home. He builds the (train) tracks at the house. Sometimes he'll take over the whole room." Danny Lewis, the president of the Wiregrass Steel Wheels Division of the National Model Railroad Association, called the event a success even with slightly fewer people in attendance. The 21st Annual Wiregrass Model Railroad Show and Sale was held at the main exhibit building on the National Peanut Festival grounds on U.S. 231 South. Admission to the show was $5 for adults and free for children 12 and under. "Considering the economy it's been a pretty good show overall," Lewis said. "We try to do things to create more interest in trains and railroads. It's a fun family activity. That's one reason we do it to try and get young kids interested in model railroads." Sheila Nebel attended the train show for the first time with Kristi Novonglosky, and 7-year-old Konner Odom, who all traveled from Chipley, Fla. "They incorporated all his favorite stuff, with the military and trains," Novonglosky said. "We've been making a train table for him (Konner). We finally found him a church." Nebel called the train show "really cool" for someone who wasn't a train enthusiast. "I liked the one with the smoke coming out the burning building and all the fire trucks," Nebel said. Al LeBlanc, a member of the Pensacola Model Railroad Club, said it took him eight months to build the particular section of the train set on display, which included a town and warehouse fire. The display also shows an electronic flashing Pensacola Beach sign, a model of a flag company called Patriot Flag Co. with a small electronic flashing American flag. "As the train goes around the track it trips the sensor for the smoke and sound (siren) for the burning fire at the warehouse." LeBlanc and the Pensacola Model Railroad Club joined several other clubs who put on large train set displays at the show, including the Emerald Coast Garden Railway Club out of Milton, Fla., and the Miracle Strip Model Railroad Club out of Shalimar, Fla. "I love watching the expressions on the children's faces," LeBlanc said. "That's what makes me happy." ___ (c)2011 the Dothan Eagle (Dothan, Ala.) Visit the Dothan Eagle (Dothan, Ala.) at www.dothaneagle.com Distributed by MCT Information Services [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]