12/04/2024
I was spotlighted in the local paper this week leading up to the big train show this weekend. It's nice to see my work get recognized, even if it was fairly impromptu and not all of my best stuff.
Monday's article from the Herald, David Dye did a fantastic job after dropping by Friday afternoon to do our interview, captions are on each photo.
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HERMITAGE — After rounding the bend, a fully-loaded freight train passes “Wheelie’s Drive-In,” where “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” plays on a screen only a few inches wide.
Elsewhere, the climax of “The Fast and the Furious” is recreated with a pair of hotrods flying past a railroad crossing occupied by a passenger train bearing the name of the fictional “Steel Belt & Shenango Valley” railway.
While Hermitage resident Tim Shultz specializes in N-scale model trains — where the trains and accessories are only about an inch tall — railroad fans of any gauge, or age, should find something to enjoy at the Buhl Model Train Society’s upcoming show.
“The show is about promoting the hobby, and sharing what we love with the community,” said Shultz, a member of the society.
The society’s annual holiday train show will be frun from 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 7 and Sunday, Dec. 8 at the Buhl Club gym in downtown Sharon.
The event is free to the public, and at least one train set will be given away as a door prize.
“It’s a good time that people seem excited to see return each year, it’s free, and you might leave with a train,” Shultz said.
About 30 displays are expected, with layouts provided by the Buhl Model Train Society and some members of the Iron City N-Scale club from the Pittsburgh area.
Shultz himself expects to have a roughly 18-by-30-foot, N-scale display for the show, although there will be some variety on display.
“Our member Bob Shannon usually does a lot of Lionel-scale stuff, but in general we try to do new displays every year to give people something different,” Shultz said.
The society’s holiday show draws plenty of families each year, including people introducing model trains to their children and grandchildren.
In some cases, the show gives families a chance to rediscover a hobby their parents or grandparents enjoyed years ago.
“Last year, I interacted with at least three sets of parents and kids, and grandparents and grandkids, who found trains in their attics and wanted to know how to get them working or how to get involved in the hobby again,” Shultz said.
Model trains, especially the old electric trains, are still associated by many as a Christmas-centric tradition, as people remember receiving trains as gifts or visiting grandparents who put up trains underneath their Christmas tree.
Today the society’s members participate in events throughout the year, such as the Night Markets in Hermitage.
The trains themselves have continued to modernize over the years, from the old Lionel trains with large electric transformers to digital controls and 3D-printed train cars.
“It really is incredible what people are able to do anymore,” Shultz said.
Although the show is free to the public, the Buhl Model Train Society will have a donation jar for anyone who would like to support the society.
A portion of the donations will in-turn be donated by the society toward the Buhl Club’s youth programs as a “thank you” for hosting the show, Shultz said.
“We always donate some kind of equipment to their youth programs,” Shultz said.
Anyone interested in learning more about the society can visit the “Buhl Model Train Society” page or their website, buhlmodeltrainsociety.com.
There are about eight regular members of the society and there are no dues or fees if someone is interested in joining, Shultz said.
Like David L. Dye on Facebook or email him at [email protected].
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We're High-balling it for the show this weekend, hope to see you all there!
-Tim
