Ashley Justinic
Everyone has a story worth telling.
Everyone has a story worth telling.
By Ashley Justinic
Model trains of all kinds were on display at the Plano Train Show Saturday and Sunday, providing an opportunity for collectors to show off their railroad layouts to other aficionados and families.
Held at the Plano Centre on Spring Creek, the event was hosted by the North Texas Council of Railroad Clubs. Organizers said attendance was lower than expected due to competition from the opening weekend of the Texas State Fair.
“I played with trains all throughout my childhood,” said club member Carl Johnson, 72. “But it wasn’t until my wife bought me a train set that I got back into it.”
Johnson has been a member of the Lone Star Flyer Model Train Club for three years. To join the Hurst-based club, he had to attend three meetings and then be voted in by current members. The club’s layout, complete with a Barnum and Bailey’s circus tent and Arizona Red Rocks, took about two to three hours to set up.
This was the 4th annual Fall Train Show to be hosted at the Plano Centre. Attendees said it is the same every year, and they’re just fine with that. The highlight of a large event like this is the ability to see many different layouts side by side. In just a short walk through the largest exhibition room, attendees were able to see trains of all sizes chugging through diverse terrains at different levels of detail and completion.
Around the displays and down the hallways, dealers offered everything from antique trains, photography, scenery pieces and even railroad-themed hat pins and patches. One dealer had brought a television and held a captive audience as he lectured from his walker seat along with slides about the Cotton Belt Route which used to pass through Dallas.
One of the youngest collectors at the show, Garret Majesco, 15, has been a member of the Denton Area Model Railroad Club for three years now. When asked how long he’s been into trains, his quizzical expression says it all: “I’ve always liked trains” he said.
He plans to expand his collection, and hopes to purchase more Kato tankers, which are the cylindrical black train cars that typically carry oil. Majesco represents the next wave of model train collectors, which are sure to keep the hobby steaming along.