LAKEPORT, Calif. – It’s been nearly 15 years since the Lake County Model Railroad Club ended its nomadic journey throughout the county and took up residence in the old National Guard Armory at the Lakeport Fairgrounds, turning a collection of portable tables into what is now a miniature empire of sights and sounds much to the delight of children of all ages.
“We began with an idea to build a railroad we could have fun with,” said Bill Cossey, a longtime member and club vice president. “What we have now is a look at California of 70 years ago when the railroad was still our Nation’s primary mode of transportation.”
The club was started more than 30 years ago by three men, meeting in whatever donated space they could find, according to the club’s brochure
“We didn’t have many rules in those days,” said Cossey. “The idea was to have fun.”
Model railroading or the “World’s Greatest Hobby,” as it’s touted by the Tennessee-based National Model Railroad Association, is shared by more than 250,000 Americans and at least a million hobbyists throughout the world.
The club models in HO scale or 1/87th actual size and has more than 800 feet of track which meanders through cities, farmland and mountains in its journey across the “state.”
They have also included a section devoted to the old narrow gage logging and mining trains that were once a part of our state’s history.
“There is a lot more involved in the hobby than setting up a circle of track and running trains,” said Cossey.
He said club members combine their talents to produce believable miniaturizations of railroad life in the 1950s and 1960s.
The hobby has even adopted digital technology that allows the railroad to operate as it did in real life, Cossey said.
“From lights in the buildings, sounds in the streets and the roar of the locomotive, computers play a huge roll in our hobby,” said Cossey. “We hope to one day have all sorts of special effects and animations controlled from a laptop computer.”
Although all the track work has been completed the layout is far from finished with member attention being focused upon scenery construction and maintenance.
“They say a model railroad is never finished but is in a constant state of improvement,” said Cossey. “We’ll finish a scene but then get a better idea and start over. But that’s what makes this hobby fun.”
Cossey said that the club welcomes new members of all ages – children under 14 need parental supervision – and they are a 100-percent NMRA club.
They will be open to visitors during the Lake County Fair which opens Thursday, Aug. 31, and continues through Sunday, Sept. 3.
The Lake County Model Railroad Club meets every Wednesday from 5 to 8 p.m., except holidays. Visitors are welcome anytime.
For more information contact Cossey at 707-274-8636 or Dave Fromer at 707-461-4025.
Dave Fromer lives in Hidden Valley Lake.
Trains are rolling at the Lake County Fair
- DAVE FROMER
- Posted On