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By LOIS KINDLE, The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 5, 2008

SUN CITY CENTER - When it comes to model trains, men will be boys. That's especially true for the 23 members of the Sun City Center Model Railroad Club.

"You know, we're not completely grown up," said Rich Krueger, who has worked with model trains for 50 years. Working with the small trains "is a lot of fun, and I enjoy the camaraderie."

"We had trains when we were kids, and we're still kids," said Don Chimney, another club member.

And they enjoy sharing their toys.

On Dec. 28, the club opened its workroom at 915 North Course Lane to the public, inviting kids of all ages - many of them grandchildren of Sun City Center residents - to operate a train and earn a personalized "Junior Engineer" certificate.

"It's all about the children," said Bill Brown, club president. "They're the future of model railroading."

The open house is one of several annual events the club began hosting more than 10 years ago. One about Thanksgiving, a couple around Christmas and another during Sun City Center's Fun Fest in the spring. About 100 attended the event Dec. 28.

Brown said it's an opportunity for kids to see what model railroading is all about and for club members to show off all their hard work. After all, they are the ones who built the large diorama that captures the essence of what trains are all about.

"This open house is our way of giving back to the community and to the children and grandchildren of area residents," said Dan Donegan.

Nearby, Jason Beckman, 7, was busy earning his certificate, while his brother Eric, 5, watched. The boys were visiting their grandmother, Carolyn Beckman of Sun City Center.

"How do you make the train go?" Eric queried.

Rick Shoup, a master model railroader, filled out each child's certificate.

"My dad started me out with a Lionel when I was 8," the 75-year-old said. "He set up a track around my bed, and I've been model railroading ever since."

Across the room, adults milled around the Sun City Central Railroad layout, which depicts an imaginary route from the Pennsylvania coal mines to Florida's citrus groves during the 1950s.

The railroad is operated by wireless Digitrax Direct Command Control, which allows every locomotive and all mainline turnouts (switches) to have unique, digital addresses. That enables them to be operated by controller or by computer.

"That allows us to vary their speeds, project them forward or back them up, turn on their lights or produce sounds, like coupling noises and horns - all individually," Brown said.

The layout features a miniature world of mountains, bodies of water, trees and other vegetation, trestles, bridges and tunnels, towns with buildings and switch houses. The eight H/O-scale trains, which means they are 1/87 the size of the real things, rumble along almost 13 scale miles of track. The club members constantly maintain and clean the tracks.

"It's really something, I'll tell you," said Paul Campbell, a former C&O conductor for 32 years. "Even on this small scale, it's very realistic. It brings back many memories."

Reporter Lois Kindle can be reached at (813) 865-1553 or lkindle@tampa trib.com.

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