My
September 12, 2011 blog detailed my involvement with the Gateway Model Railroad
club in its formative years and I recently saw an open house notice for them while
picking up some glue at a local hobby shop. So I figured I would stop by and
see how they have progressed in the last few decades. It appears they have
totally redone the layout since my last visit. It is now multiple decks and
pretty much fills the first story of their building.
When
you enter you see a picture of Ed Evans, their founder and my favorite Sunday
School teacher. My 2011 blog details the impact he had on his often out of
control Sunday School class. It is men like him that left their mark for good
on the generation that followed them. I will always be grateful for having had
the opportunity to know him and be molded by him.
The club has some
excellent builders who have populated the layout with magnificent structures,
many with detailed interiors. I don’t understand why they kept the room so dark,
as I would like to have seen the buildings in better light. (It was also
strange to see an elderly operator controlling the trains with a medical facemask.)
As I highlighted in previous open house blogs, I think when you have an open
house you need some roving ambassadors to engage the public in the joys of
model railroading.
