For Lake County Model Railroad Club's 50th anniversary, a treat for children and adults alike

  • Cole DeVoe, 2½, watches Thomas the Tank Engine roll by with his parents, Caitlin and Michael, during the Lake County Model Railroad Club's 50th anniversary open house Saturday in Wauconda. Caitlin has worked upstairs at the Honey Hill Coffee Shop since 2008 but had not visited the club previously. "It's more fun when you have a kid with you," she said.

      Cole DeVoe, 2½, watches Thomas the Tank Engine roll by with his parents, Caitlin and Michael, during the Lake County Model Railroad Club's 50th anniversary open house Saturday in Wauconda. Caitlin has worked upstairs at the Honey Hill Coffee Shop since 2008 but had not visited the club previously. "It's more fun when you have a kid with you," she said. Joe Lewnard | Staff Photographer

  • An HO-scale Gulf, Mobile and Ohio passenger train crosses a trestle during the Lake County Model Railroad Club's 50th anniversary open house Saturday in Wauconda.

      An HO-scale Gulf, Mobile and Ohio passenger train crosses a trestle during the Lake County Model Railroad Club's 50th anniversary open house Saturday in Wauconda. Joe Lewnard | Staff Photographer

  • Club members Tim Michnay of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, left, and John Scanlon of Zion operate trains for guests during the Lake County Model Railroad Club's 50th anniversary open house Saturday in Wauconda.

      Club members Tim Michnay of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, left, and John Scanlon of Zion operate trains for guests during the Lake County Model Railroad Club's 50th anniversary open house Saturday in Wauconda. Joe Lewnard | Staff Photographer

  • Johnny Molitor, 7, of Port Barrington watches a train roll by during the Lake County Model Railroad Club's 50th anniversary open house Saturday in Wauconda.

      Johnny Molitor, 7, of Port Barrington watches a train roll by during the Lake County Model Railroad Club's 50th anniversary open house Saturday in Wauconda. Joe Lewnard | Staff Photographer

  • An HO-scale Chicago and North Western switching locomotive pauses in an industrial section during the Lake County Model Railroad Club's 50th anniversary open house Saturday in Wauconda.

      An HO-scale Chicago and North Western switching locomotive pauses in an industrial section during the Lake County Model Railroad Club's 50th anniversary open house Saturday in Wauconda. Joe Lewnard | Staff Photographer

 
Joe Lewnard
 
 
Updated 11/19/2022 5:02 PM

Children and adults were fascinated by the realism of model trains rolling past scenes during the Lake County Model Railroad Club's 50th anniversary open house.

In scenes depicting hilly terrain and tall trestles to Midwestern farmland and industrial settings, replicas of steam and diesel-powered powered passenger and freight trains operated by club members rolled past on the 60-by-30-foot layout as guests watched.

 

The club is in the basement below the Honey Hill Coffee Shop in Wauconda, and Caitlyn DeVoe was a first- time visitor to the club, even though she has worked at the coffee shop since 2008. She and he husband, Michael, took turns holding their son Cole, 2½, while viewing the model trains.

"I've told people about it, but it's my first time here," DeVoe said. "It's more fun when you have a kid with you."

The open house continues Sunday from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m.

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