Keeping Their Love Of Trains On Track

Members of the Columbia and Susquehanna Model Railroad

The display is located on the second floor of the Columbia Historic Preservation Society. Realistic buildings are found throughout the display. New items, such as this interactive haunted house, are added regularly.

BY CATHY MOLITORIS

On the second floor of the Columbia Historic Preservation Society, you can find a bunch of kids indulging in their passion. But these aren’t your typical kids - most are in their 60s and 70s.

“We’re really kids who never grew up,” explained Chris Cohan, one of the younger members of the Columbia and Susquehanna Model Railroad. “We just love trains.”

The group shares its enthusiasm for HO-scale model trains on the fourth Sunday of the month from May through October. Beginning Thanksgiving weekend, the display runs on Saturdays and Sundays through the first weekend after the new year.

“We do this because we love it, and we do it for the kids,” said member Rick Christopher. “And, we do it for the kids who are maybe just a little bit older than you’d expect.”

The 2,200-square-foot layout features a section depicting Columbia’s riverfront in the 1930s, ’40s and ’50s, created by member Tony Segro.

“Tony scratch-built every one of these buildings,” said Cohan, noting that two in the layout still stand in Columbia today.

Segro started on the layout in 2000, working on and off over the next 16 years to complete it.

“I used photos from the historical society to make it as accurate as I could,” he stated. “They had a lot of information I could use.”

The layout also includes scenes created by the imagination of the club members.

For Walter Bosch, who came to check out the display on a recent Sunday and was joined by a crowd of other visitors, the trains offer a chance to indulge in nostalgia. “I love watching them,” he said.

Christopher noted that when he joined the club about four years ago, it brought him right back to his childhood.

“I’ve loved trains since I was a little kid,” he said, echoing the sentiment of most of the members in the club. “When I started here, my love of HO trains just came flooding back to me.”

“HO,” as Christopher explained, is the type of scale used for the model trains. The trains are 187th the size of their real counterparts, and the members said they believe it’s the best scale for displaying accurate details and providing the best viewing experience.

Membership in the club is open to anyone who loves trains. “We have no official officers, no dues, no membership fees,” said Christopher. “We’re just a bunch of guys who love trains and love to get together. Our only rule is you have to get along with everybody.”

The display is constantly evolving as new members join and add to it, so even if you’ve seen it once, you’ll see something new the next time you visit, Cohan said.

And the members of the club are on hand each weekend to answer questions or point out unique features of the display. “If you’ve ever enjoyed watching trains, you’ll love this,” Christopher said.

The Columbia and Susquehanna Model Railroad will run from 1 to 4 p.m. at 21 N. Second St., Columbia, on Saturdays and Sundays from Nov. 27 through Jan. 9 (except for Christmas Day and New Year’s Day). Admission is free. For more information, search for “Columbia and Susquehanna Model Railroad” on Facebook.

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