Model railroad club engineers fun for all ages

If you want to see an impressive model train exhibit, roll into South Elgin, where the Valley Model Railroad Club is holding its annual open house.

This Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, visitors to the Old Clintonville Station, which serves as the club's headquarters, will see the layout the club has been working on since 1999.

As club president Henry Vincent explained, all of the trains are HO gauge.

"It stands for half of O gauge. If you've ever seen the Lionel trains, O gauge is half the size of those," Vincent said.

"There will be hundreds of cars on display and anywhere from five to eight trains running at any one time."

Vincent said that although most of the equipment used in the layout looks old, the system they use is actually quite modern.

"We have a system that's called DCC, Direct Command Control. It's hooked up to a computer, and everybody has a handheld computer unit they carry with them -- and they can program their engine numbers into them and operate their trains separately from everybody else."

The layout is designed to work the same way real railroads do today, in which switches can be thrown from remote locations.

"Believe it or not, when they throw a switch on Metra, it can be thrown from somewhere in the Merchandise Mart -- or if it's on one of the major railroads other than the Metra line, those can be thrown from as far away as Houston, Texas. So we do the same thing, except the distance isn't quite as far," Vincent joked.

Highlights of the layout include an industrial scene and replica of a ferry boat that carried trains across Lake Michigan. Children are not only invited to watch, but can earn an engineer's certificate by running a train and stopping it in front of a station.

"I haven't found one yet that hasn't been able to do it," said Vincent.

"Certified" engineers can then visit the Clintonville Station and run trains on the second and fourth Friday of every month from 8 to 10 p.m., when the club opens its gathering to the public.

The club is a 501(c7) organization presented in cooperation with the Kane County Forest Preserve District. The district owns the Clintonville Station, and leases it to the railroad club. In exchange, the club maintains the building and pays the utility bills.

Admission to this weekend's open house is free, but donations are accepted. Those donations, along with member dues, are what pay the bills that keep the building and trains running.

According to Vincent, those interested in joining the club need only an interest in model railroading.

"We've had people for many different reasons," Vincent said. "One gentleman who joined was a photographer, and just wanted to be a member to take pictures and be our club photographer."

The club was founded in Elgin in March of 1949. In 1953, it moved to the South Elgin location, which was the Clintonville substation of the Chicago, Aurora and Elgin electric interurban railway.

As Vincent describes it, model railroading is great entertainment that spans decades.

"We have people coming in that their grandfathers brought them, or their fathers brought them down -- and now they're bringing their children and their grandchildren," he said.

If you go

What: Valley Model Railroad Club open house

When: 7 to 10 p.m. Friday, 1 to 10 p.m. Saturday and 1 to 6 p.m. Sunday

Where: Clintonville Station, 33W519 Kenyon Road, a quarter-mile west of Route 25 in South Elgin

How much? Free, but donations accepted

Info: Call (847) 742-2028 or visit www.trainweb.org/vmrr