Model train open house events return

SANDUSKY — Everything's on track for another fun showcase of a massive train display. The Eerie Mad River Model Railroad Club will host its annual open house for two weekends in December: • The first open house — from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 6 — will feature steam engines, giving visitors a look at what trains looked like through World War II. • The second open house — from noon to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 13 — will feature diesel engines. Both events take place at the club's building: 1309 N. Depot St., Sandusky. Fittingly, it's not far from the city's Amtrak train station. Both events are free, although donations will be accepted. Setting the scene No matter the Saturday, people can see a big model train layout filling most of the 30-foot by 35-foot building. There are many trains and tracks with elaborate miniature towns, ports, train stations and scenery. Organizers said the layout gets a little more intricate and detailed and works a little better every year. Scenery for the layout is "90% complete," according to an event statement. But, in reality, the work is never done, as the 10 members of the club love to keep tinkering with the train set and making it better. While all the trains and all of the tracks might count as the main feature, there is also elaborate scenery that's largely the work of the late Dave Ballard, a former helicopter gunner and Cedar Point ride mechanic, who passed away in 2023. Ballard, for example, put together a lumber yard. Visitors can see the boards stacked inside the building and tiny people at the business talking with one another. But even without Ballard, the club's other members continue to work on the scenery. For example, the water, which washes the shores of the train set, has been made more realistic; the seaport area has been revamped; and new trees and landscaping have been added. And while the layout might now appear to have a shortage of trains, the club's oldest member — club secretary Bob Butler, 86 — continues to shop for train engines, checking on eBay and at hobby shops in Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey. For those who've paid attention to trains in operation across northern Ohio, they might have noticed red and green lights by the tracks. Red and green lights have now been added to the train set. The tiny lights are a good example of how club members are always looking to upgrade the set, said Mike Kish, the club's president. "It's those incremental, little things," Kish said. And some upgrades aren't visible. The trains are now run by a computer, which makes it easier to keep the trains running on the shared tracks. People who attend the open house events can meet club members if they want to learn more about the model train hobby. They might even find themselves wanting to join the Eerie Mad River club. "That's how they got me," said Alec Bonawit, the club's vice president. "I attended an open house." People can learn more by visiting Facebook and searching for "Eerie Mad River Model Railroad Club."