Train show coming to Harper College this weekend
The High Wheeler Train Show invites visitors to unleash their imaginations from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, March 5-6, at Harper College while admiring the craftsmanship and astounding detail of layouts often built entirely by hand.
This year's show will host more model railroads than ever before. A must-see for model railroading enthusiasts and train-loving families - visitors can marvel at 30 railroads, including six new layouts.
New this year, kids 5 and up can operate the trains at participating layouts. With the guidance of a model railroader, kids can learn how model trains run and about how the real railroads operated. Look for the "Run the Trains" signs at participating layouts.
"This year, we want to invite children to get hands-on with trains," said Jim Osborn, High Wheeler public relations trainmaster. "Not only is it a great educational opportunity to learn how trains work, it's just plain fun to run the trains through their journey around a model layout."
Within the exhibition hall, visitors will find trains of all sizes and scales from small "Z" scale trains that fit in a briefcase to a large "G" scale train layout. There will be an all new Lego layout. The Blau Pewaukee Road layout is built by a family team featuring many recognizable sights, including Disneyland. Other new layouts can be seen in O, HO and N scales. The "Railroad Race Track" returns to High Wheeler for kids to enjoy this year, too.
Modeling masters from across the Midwest will be demonstrating the skills and techniques used to build the layouts. Railroad experts will be sharing the legacy of the railroads that made Chicago and the Midwest what it is today.
Door prize drawings of train-themed gifts will be held frequently and visitors have a chance to win one of four complete model train starter sets, valued at $190, compliments of Wm. K. Walthers Inc. Vendors from local hobby shops will have thousands of items for sale.
Admission is $8, free for ages 5-12 with a printable online pass available at www.highwheelertrainshow.com, or $2 for that age without the pass. Kids 5 and younger get in free. Admission at the door is cash only. The show is held in Building M, the Wellness & Sports Center. Free parking is available. The show is sponsored by the not-for-profit Fox Valley Division of the National Model Railroad Association in Palatine.