Chuggin’ Through Town Spirit Of The Great American Train Show Kept Alive Year Around By Local Modelers

Tue., March 11, 1997

By Paul Turner srpaulturner@gmail.com

A big exhibition of little railroads billed as “America’s largest touring model train show” comes to Spokane this weekend.

The Great American Train Show will be at the Spokane Interstate Fairgrounds on Saturday and Sunday, open from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m. both days.

Tickets are $5 for adults, with children under 12 admitted free if accompanied by an adult.

The exhibition features 150 tables of toy trains and eight operating model railroad layouts, according to a spokesman for the show. In addition, there will be vendors, workshops and opportunities for kids to operate some of the electric trains.

But attending the show isn’t the only way to find out about one of America’s classic hobbies.

On the first Thursday night of each month (7:15 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.), Spokane’s River City Modelers hold an open house in their basement clubhouse at 11811 First Ave. in the Valley.

Visitors can check out the group’s work-in-progress elevated train layout. It features some 500 feet of HO-scale track and elaborate landscaping.

There’s nothing slick about their cramped 40-by-50 room beneath Giorgio’s Fitness Center. And if most of the 35 members - ranging in age from 16 to 65 - show up, it can get crowded.

But it’s free, and many of the club members enjoy answering questions about a hobby that has experienced a significant comeback in the ‘90s. Some of these model citizens even go easy on the jargon.

Jerry Quinn, club president, pointed to one of his own trains Thursday night and tried to explain the appeal. “When you look at this, it says ‘travel, adventure, what’s over the mountain, the lonesome whistle’ and all of that,” he said.

Quinn, 57, owner of an advertising and marketing business, possesses approximately 1,500 model rail cars. “I’m involved,” he deadpanned.

Nearby, other club members watched a long model train gracefully glide around a bend in the track. “Westbound coming in,” someone called out.

Retired Spokane police detective Bruce Nelson said model railroading dovetails nicely with his interest in American history. But after mulling it for a moment, he said that’s not the most important attraction.

“I think it has always been therapeutic,” he said. “It’s a way to relax.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: 2 Color Photos

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