Train show brings out kids, not matter what their age

At Naperville's annual holiday train show, it's not uncommon for parents and their kids to tussle over control of the models, organizers say.

That's because many parents -- and grandparents -- have their own fond memories of riding the train as a child.

"I remember traveling from Chicago to Janesville," collector Mike Daleiden of Sugar Grove said. "It's the 'romance of the rails.' It's being in a comfortable environment, and you sit back and just look out the window."

On Saturday, parents and kids bonded over a passion for trains at the Christmas Train Show sponsored by the local chapter of the Lionel Collectors Club of America.

The annual show, held at Naperville Central High School, usually attracts between 500 and 600 visitors. It featured interactive displays, memorabilia, a visit from Santa -- and plenty of excited children.

Nowel Salazar, 10, of Naperville, said he wants a model Santa Fe Railroad train for Christmas.

"I just like playing with them," he said. "I want to build one soon with my dad."

Since the 1960s, overall sales of model trains have dropped, partly due to the decline of trains as a form of transportation, experts say.

But in recent years, leaders have seen a renewed interest in toy trains, thanks to figures like Thomas the Tank Engine and movies like "The Polar Express."

Collector Rodney Thompson said kids today need something more imaginative than computers and TV.

Playing with the old-fashioned models taps into that creativity in ways technology can't, he said. And that stays with you.

"Even when you're 90, you still have that imagination," he said.

Daleiden loves everything about the train -- what it represents, the food, even the sound the wheels make on the tracks.

But kids today don't enjoy the variety of trains and stations he did as a child -- it doesn't exist anymore.

"Now all people know is Amtrak," he said.

In recent years, train show dealers like him have noticed increased sales of non-train merchandise, like military books and even stuffed animals around the holidays.

"The key is having a lot of variety," Daleiden said. "If you don't catch them with a train, you catch them with a plane."