DuPage model engineers seek more members to keep popular train layout running
In the corporate world, it’s known as “logistics,” managing the transportation of goods between origin and destination. At the DuPage County Historical Museum, it’s known as playing with trains.
For more than 50 years, members of the DuPage Society of Model Engineers have designed, built and run a complex layout of specialized HO gauge model trains that deliver a variety of train cars, history lessons and fun for visitors to the display.
Begun in 1956, the first layout was constructed in a former chicken coop on a farm in Lombard. Ten years later, that layout had outgrown the coop and needed a new home. The basement of the recently dedicated DuPage County Historical Museum was available — if they were willing to clean it out.
“I helped haul the coal out of the bins down here,” remembers Bill Stroner, a founding member of the volunteer society.
It took three years to complete the layout at the museum. A peek beneath the tables reveals ropes of intertwined wires thick as jungle vines. Ken Valentine, another society member, estimates more than a mile of wiring completes the setup.
“Don Gouldsberry, the engineer who designed the electrical system layout, is color blind. That’s why we have a lot of red wire,” Valentine says.
The electric schematics were so well thought out, Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry sent their engineer to take notes on the Wheaton model before beginning construction on Chicago’s version.
The visible train system layout includes a whimsical depiction of 12 DuPage County towns and many historic landmarks, including “Lilacia Valley,” named for the city of Lombard, and “Turner Junction,” which was later known as the city of West Chicago.
More than 50 local industries, past and present, are represented in the layout. Each building was painstakingly hand-constructed from model kits or, in some cases, “scratch-built.” Hundreds of hours went into the creation of the detailed replica of the DuPage County Historical Museum building, assembled especially for the layout by Keith Ward, another longtime volunteer.
Stroner calls the layout “finished, nearly finished,” after a recent reconstruction. “The museum needed eight feet off the end to put in an elevator.” Stroner made a chopping motion with his hand. “Took us a while to fix that.”
Over the years, there have been close to 100 volunteers on the society’s roster. Now fewer than 10 active members maintain and operate the trains. They meet Wednesday evenings.
Part logic puzzle and part chess game, playing with trains involves transporting cars around the layout. Engineers create waybills, similar to the ones actually used in train yards, to route cars to destinations.
Each waybill includes specific instructions on where the car must be delivered. Without lifting a car off the track, the engineer has to determine how to move the car along the destination route assigned by the waybill card.
The men delight in making these instructions as tricky as possible.
They also enjoy sharing their enthusiasm for all-things-trait during Train Days, which are The third and fifth Saturday afternoons of every month. The next Train Day will be from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. May 19 at the museum, 102 E. Wesley St., Wheaton.
Visitors tell another history of the museum’s famous train display. Peggy Pieczybski, a Wheaton resident for 41 years, said she remembers bringing her son to see the trains. Now she brings her grandson and granddaughter.
Stacey Bennett brought her 15-year-old son and his pal all the way from Rantoul to see the trains run.
“My dad used to do HO layouts,” said Dan Seiders of Naperville, visiting with his grandchildren. “I really appreciate how detailed this setup is.”
Careful observation of signs, such as “Support your local Dentist — Eat Candy” and “Striptgearworks,” always brings a smile. A haunted house, King Kong and the Batmobile offer tiny visual surprises set beside amazingly accurate model buildings.
The painted numbers, which can be seen on the model roofs, are actually visible on the same buildings in Wheaton to airline pilots flying overhead.
Members of the DuPage Society of Model Engineers delight in these details, as much as visitors to the museum. But with most members now well older than 60, there is a growing concern within the group about what will happen to the trains in the coming years. It may be the most important logistics issue the society has faced.
“I like the fellows here. We have fun. No feuds,” says Ward. “We hope to pass this on.”
Those interested in joining the DuPage Society of Model Engineers are invited to contact either Keith Ward or Bill Stroner through the DuPage County Historical Museum website, www.dupagemuseum.com.
If you go
What: Train Day
When: 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Saturday, May 19
Where: DuPage County Historical Museum, 102 E. Wesley St., Wheaton
Cost: Free; donations appreciated
Info: www.dupagemuseum.com