FINDLAY, OH (WLIO) - Model train hobbyists gathered in Findlay on Sunday to shop for new pieces and support locomotive education.
The Northwest Ohio Railroad Preservation had sixty tables full of model train parts, historical displays, and train art at the Spring Model Train Show. Many say that attending a vendor show is a better experience than shopping online because you can see and feel pieces before you buy and learn more from experts on model trains, some who have been building them since they were children in the 1950's.
Some fans enjoy learning about and having replicas and certain kinds of trains, but for others, it's all about imagination.
"You can create your own world practically, and if you get really big and you build a big layout that's, let's say, 25 feet square, which is quite large, you can build towns, cities, you can build manufacturing facilities. And you can actually recreate the real world on a table that you can control," said Denny Desalve, one of the vendors at the show.
The train show is one of many events throughout the year that raises money to keep the Northwest Ohio Railroad Preservation, a completely volunteer-run organization, affordable for families.
"We do some educational things throughout the year. We have preschool groups that come frequently; we got one coming next month, in the summer they come a lot. And we'll actually open up one of the cabooses, and we can do a caboose tour for the preschool groups so they learn about how it was when the cabooses were on the back of trains, and the function of the caboose, and things like that," explained Steve Wilch, the treasurer of the Northwest Ohio Railroad Preservation.
Visitors could also take a ride on the one-quarter-scale steam engine and learn how it works.
