Train (show) arrives Saturday at fairgrounds

Children, both boys and girls, for decades have raised cries of joy on Christmas morning at the sight of a model train running around the tree.

All the sights, sounds and textures that make model railroading a hobby so much fun for people of all ages (yes, adults love trains, too) will be on display when Luce Line Railroad Club Inc. hosts its 15th Hutchinson Model Railroad Show on Saturday, Sept. 26, at the McLeod County Fairgrounds in Hutchinson.

To prove that model railroading isn’t just for kids, LLRC’s 20 members, all of whom belong to the National Model Railroad Association, have invited other area model railroaders to display their railroad empires. About a dozen model railroads from Hutchinson, Alexandria, Spicer, St. Cloud, Willmar and the Twin Cities are expected.

Among the model railroads that will be operated for the public are the club’s large HO railroad (1/87th scale), and its three-rail O scale (1/48th scale) pike for vintage Lionel and Marx trains. Children are welcome to take the throttle of the club’s You-Run-It railroad. A Luce Line member will display a finely detailed, diminutive N scale (1/160th scale) layout. Member Stan Koci will operate his fascinating American Flyer/S scale (1/64th scale) layout.

Other model railroad hobbyists will sell model railroad equipment, as well as books, videos about railroads and real railroad memorabilia. This will be a great opportunity to do early Christmas shopping for train lovers.

If you go
15th Hutchinson Model Railroad Show

When: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 26

Where: at the McLeod County Fairgrounds, 780 Century Ave. S.W., Hutchinson

Admission: $4, children 12 or younger are free

(Terry Davis is a Hutchinson Leader staff writer. E-mail him at davis@hutchinsonleader.com.)