Alex. or E
Model railroading has no age or gender constraints. That will be evident at Alexandria's History Museum, The Lyceum, 201 S. Washington St., on Aug. 4 and 5, when the second floor is filled with imaginary towns, mountains, valleys, streams, lakes and, most of all, HO gauge model trains.
The event, known as "Railroad Days," is the creation of the Potomac Chapter, Northern Virginia Model Railroading Club. It is free and open to public from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 4, and from 1 to 5 p.m., Sunday, Aug. 5.
For anyone with the slightest interest in or fascination with model railroading, "Railroad Days" offers a great opportunity to learn not only about this hobby but also about Alexandria's railroad history. Last year it drew nearly 1,500 railroad buffs over the two days.
THIS YEAR marks the 10th Anniversary of the club's creation of the model train display. The all HO gauge layout features a variety of trains operating through miniature scenes of towns, hills, valleys, and long trestle bridges.
Club members, operating from the center of the room-long display, keep the various trains moving on a series of tracks while at the same time making themselves available to answer questions about not only model railroading but also real railroading and its role in building America.
Model railroading has spanned two centuries of fascination, evolving from wooden pull toys to today's realistic models in a wide range of gauges from those that require the space of entire room to something so small it can operate in an attache case. And, now there are Lego trains that can be transformed instantly to suit the owner's momentary desire — freight to passenger and back.
For those truly interested in model railroading history, there is Sam Posey's basic text, "Playing With Trains." As he states, "Trains are a part of our national heritage, and modeling them is too. It's a hobby with proven staying power because so much is involved. It takes work to get good results, but in the end you will have mastery and control of a world of your own making."
What better place and venue to enter that world than by visiting The Lyceum's "Railroad Days?" If time is truly a continuum, model railroading is one of the tangible linkages of that phenomena.