BLISSFIELD MODEL RAILROAD

Working on the Railroad

Story by Sara Hilton | Photos by Nanci Heiney

Through the doors of a nondescript building in Blissfield is a miniature world of wonder. Trains whirl around the Appalachian Mountains, through tiny quaint towns and stop at industrial steel mills. There are bridges over rivers, shipping yards, schools and churches, and for the holidays, there is of course, a Christmas train.

This is the Blissfield Model Railroad Club, a group of model railroaders from across the southeast Michigan and Northwest Ohio area who build and operate a large HO scale model railroad based on the Chesapeake & Ohio and Clinchfield railroads in Ohio, Kentucky, West Virginia, Virginia, and Tennessee.

The detail is extraordinary. “The guys that generate the scenes just have the most amazing artistic talent,” said Joe Watts, who serves as the club’s treasurer. “For instance, the Appalachian Mountains take a lot of trees. We developed a way of making HO scale trees from a weed. "We import the weed, cut off the stem, and it leaves a three-to-fiveinch tuff of greenery that we put together and paint to make realisticlooking trees"

The Blissfield Model Railroad Club started in 1992 with a group of enthusiasts who wanted to create a portable layout that could be entered in contests. Within two years, the club was showing in Indiana, Ohio, and in Michigan, and was constantly winning first place awards for their layout. With the goal in mind to set up a permanent layout, the group made arrangements to rent the

FREE HOLIDAY LAYOUT TOURS SUNDAYS DEC. 12 & 19

RESERVE YOUR 30-MINUTE TOUR! 10AM - 5PM

Visiting families or groups must wear masks and maintain social distancing between families while in the building. Up to 10 visitors can occupy the building at any time. In addition, the club will have 6-8 members running trains, directing visitor traffic, and disinfecting between visits.

Reserve at visit bmrr.org. Donations welcome.

Note: In the event that the current Michigan Health Department order extends beyond December 8, the Holiday Layout Tours will have to be cancelled and those with reservations will be notified.

second floor of an old feed mill building. The renovation work to turn this space into what they imagined was intense. With only a 2 x 4 ladder leading to that second floor space that hadn’t been used in years, there was much to be done. However, over the next 15 years, the group constructed a multi level railroad with about 1,500 feet of main line track.

In 2013, the group was finally able to purchase their own building, where they are currently located. A never-ending quest to build scenes and operate trains has transformed the space into its current state of wonder. Although the pandemic has greatly altered their ability to share their creation with the public, in the past they have regularly held two-day open houses from September through April, along with special holiday-themed open houses in December. These events typically draw as many as 200 visitors over the course of a weekend. “It’s so fun to see people walk in for the first time,” said Watts. “A lot of people have driven by a hundred times, and they have no idea what’s inside. They walk in the door and their eyes get so wide. There is something for everyone. The train enthusiasts, the artistic aspects of the scenery, and of course, the little kids just love to see the trains running.” n

Joe Watts