Model trains entertain all ages

Hundreds of model train enthusiasts had an opportunity to view and operate elaborate layouts as well as buy and sell new and antique trains last Saturday during the annual Train Collector’s Association’s Gulf Coast Chapter Lone Star Division train show and swap meet.

Among them was Aiden Gustafson, 5, of Spring, who enjoyed watching the model trains make their way around the tracks.

“I press this,” he said with his hand on the red button, “and it moves around.”

But the train show and swap meet attracted more than just young children.

Katy residents and great-grandparents David and Eleanor Driver said they both grew up in railroad towns in Conway, Ark. and Wheeling, W.V., respectively, and have always been fascinated with trains.

“We used to have a model train, and we gave it to our daughter and her children,” Eleanor Driver said. “Now, we have great-grandchildren that enjoy it too, so it’s sort of a family thing.”

A major component of the Train Collectors Association is an outreach program to introduce newcomers to the hobby of model trains, as well as collecting them.

Carl Olson, president of the Gulf Coast Chapter Lone Star Division, said the event draws model train aficionados from numerous parts of Texas and Louisiana.

“A good portion of the people attending the show are from the Houston area, but we have people from Austin, Dallas, Plano, all over the state and Louisiana,” he said.

“The railroad still comes through here, but it used to be a daily thing so Katy has an association with railroads because they’re the reason a lot of the towns around here sprung up.”

The Train Collector’s Association has approximately 30,000.

Members can participate in local groups including the Gulf Coast Chapter, Central Texas Chapter, North Texas Chapter or Louisiana Chapter.

There is also the Houston Tinplate Operators Society, an organization of O-gauge train modelers whose principal interests range from true tinplate (pre- and post-war) to near-scale three-rail operation. The group has a club store at Memorial City Mall.

Those who are interested in more information about the association, please visit www.tca-lonestardivision.org. For information about the Gulf Coast Chapter, please visit www.tca-gulfcoastchapter.org or contact Olson at 28-277-7630.

© 2012 Katy Times. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.