Model train enthusiasts on track for Shirley fair

Nashua Valley club hosts Sunday show

At last year's Railfair at Shirley Middle School, groups such as North Shore Model Railroad Association (above) were on hand. At right, models of a Conrail locomotive (top) and of a freight locomotive. (Nashua Valley Railroad Association photos)

This Sunday, the trains in Shirley will all be running on time. That's because the Nashua Valley Railroad Association is hosting its 44th annual model railroad show and open house at the Shirley Middle School and at the association's club headquarters in Phoenix Park, about a quarter-mile walk from the school.

"The railroad show will have nearly three dozen dealers who have the latest in locomotives, rolling stock, books, and accessories for sale," said club member Al Ericcson, "but there are also lots of model train setups that people can see and try out."

The, event, said club member Peter D'Olimpio, is something of a party. "It's geared toward serious collectors and families," he said. "There's one train that's big enough for kids to ride around in."

The Nashua Valley Railroad Association has been around for 57 years, and has about 40 active members.

"We work primarily on the HO scale model trains," said Ericcson, "because it's large enough to see details, but small enough to fit a setup in your house. The focus of the club is preserving the history of railroading in New England, so most of our equipment and layouts are accurate to the industry and culture in the Worcester County area."

Last year, the club moved its headquarters to Phoenix Park in Shirley, and Ericcson said he was impressed with the way the town embraced them.

"At last year's show, we had several hundred people, including the school principal and several of the town's representatives who came and took part in the event," he said. "We also had B&M railroad police come and talk about safety at railroad crossings."

The commuter and freight train line runs right behind the building, so Ericcson said whenever a train went by, everyone ran outside to see what kind of engine it was and how many cars were attached (last year's record was 67 cars).

Because the club just moved into its new space a year ago, its model train layout isn't complete.

"We've got a wonderful 50-by-50-foot room," said Ericcson, "and we have the plan for the layout, but not everything is in place yet. The portion that is built, though, includes one train with a camera attached, so that you can see things from the train engineer's perspective. We also have N scale model trains set up that kids can run on their own. I think people will enjoy seeing the progress as we work on it."

Michael Saucier, who owns the Shepaug Railroad Co. in Leominster (named after a 19th-century railroad line that ran through western Connecticut), will have a table at Sunday's show.

"My equipment is geared toward hobbyists and modelists," said Saucier. Although there is some competition with so many dealers at the event, he says, "there are so many products out there, and every dealer specializes in something different. Trains have gone digital now, so you can run more than one at a time, and many are equipped with sounds, so you have a whistle that sounds like a real diesel engine."

Saucier said interest in train collecting has remained steady despite the economy.

"Sales dropped by about 10 percent last fall," he said, "but now they are even with last year. I think people may be staying at home and turning to their collections rather than going on expensive vacations."

There is a fascination about creating a whole world around the trains, said Ericcson.

"The locomotives and freight cars are great," he said, "but there's also signals, signs, trees, animals, other buildings, all the things that you pass when you ride on a train. It can get very elaborate, and that's part of the fun."

Collectors, said Ericcson, are primarily men.

"A lot of them had trains as kids and then returned to the hobby when their kids grew up," he said. All 40 members of the club are men, said Ericcson, but he hopes when families see the elaborate setups and possibilities, they may become hooked, too.

"The creative opportunities are enormous," he said. "Of course, we love to get the locomotives going, but crafting the scenes in which the trains travel is just as much fun."

Terry Byrne can be reached at trbyrne@aol.com.