Festival's display trains new enthusiasts

The multigenerational appeal of model trains was on display Friday during the Scarecrow Festival in St. Charles.

Members of the Valley Model Railroad Club of South Elgin were on hand to exhibit up to 20 trains in various displays at the St. Charles VFW, 119 N. Third St.

This is the first time the exhibit -- which will run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. today and Sunday -- is part of the festival.

Men in their 60s and 70s showed toddlers and pre-schoolers how to make Thomas the Tank Engine run, to the delight of all. The familiar blue-faced engine circles a model village and farm on the tabletop exhibit.

"I'm going to keep this certificate forever," said Cassie Cartee, 7, of St. Charles. She was holding a blue piece of paper with her name on it that certified she was able to use the controls to stop Thomas at the train station, which she did with the help of Skip Riley of the model train club.

Cassie's mother, Nancy, said the family came to the exhibit mainly because of her son Cole, 9, who has a model train at home.

"He's my train guy; he loves them," Nancy said. "And I thought this would be the perfect place to stop between the scarecrows and the carnival."

"I hope they do this every year because it's interactive," said Kellie Caps of St. Charles, who was with son Clayton, 2. "He's in love with trains, especially Thomas. He'd fall asleep with his head on the tracks if I let him."

"We've never had this many kids at any of our other events," said Riley, of Huntley, a club member for 15 years.

Riley believes model trains hold an attraction for many because model railroaders cannot only build trains but make them run.

"With today's technology, you can buy trains that have different sounds and whistles," Riley said. "When I was growing up, I had an old Lionel. I was lucky to get smoke out of the smoke stack."

The exhibit is free, but the club is accepting donations for the repair and maintenance of its Clintonville Station headquarters on Kenyon Road just west of Route 25 near South Elgin. The club moved into the building, a former electrical substation and passenger stop on the Chicago Aurora and Elgin Railroad, in 1953.

For information, call (847) 742-2028 or visit www.trainweb.org/vmrr.