The Hudson Model Railroad Club in Plains boasts a 1,200 square foot layout with two mainlines and one branch line. The club hosted an open house on Sunday, with more scheduled into January.
Margaret Roarty | Times Leader
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The Hudson Model Railroad Club opens its doors to visitors during the summer and winter months. While the open houses are free to the public, the nonprofit does accept donations.
Margaret Roarty | Times Leader
PLAINS — When Steve Gazey was growing up, he was obsessed with anything that had an engine in it, including cars and planes, but nothing piqued his interest more than trains.
“It started with my grandfather and he always had the old, old train sets so then I grew up doing it too,” said Gazey, 22, as he stood in the middle of the Hudson Model Railroad Club’s model train layout on Sunday during the nonprofit’s winter open house.
For train enthusiasts like Gazey, it was the perfect place to be. The open house attracted visitors of all ages, eager to explore the club’s 1,200-square-foot layout. The nonprofit, founded in 1980, operates an era-neutral layout with two mainlines and one branchline, with new sections added here and there to keep things fresh and exciting.
Gazey, who attended the open house with his mom, Christine, is looking forward to applying to be a member of the club once enrollment opens up in the spring. He has his own layout built in his basement, but he’s eager to work on the one the club operates because it’s much bigger and, according to him, one of the best layouts he’s seen.
“Honestly, I’ve gone out of town to a bunch of places and this is one of the nicer layouts compared to some that I’ve driven two or three hours to see,” Gazey said.
While the open house was free to the public, visitors were welcome to offer donations. Fundraising is important, Gazey said, because he knows how much time and effort goes into maintaining the layout.
“They’re here countless hours a day,” Gazey said.
Secretary Treasurer Steve Balko said any donations the club receives will go toward the cost of maintaining and updating the layout. For Balko, his work as secretary treasurer comes second to his love of trackwork.
“I like just seeing the finished product, getting to play with different materials and trying to connect the layout to things we can relate to,” he said.
While attendance hasn’t quite gone back to pre-COVID levels, Balko said it’s nostalgia that keeps visitors coming back time and time again.
“A lot of people grew up having some type of train underneath their Christmas tree,” he said.
It was certainly nostalgic for Eric Gunsser, who attended the open house with his 12-year-old son, Andrew. Gunsser grew up with around trains, but had had grown out of the hobby until Andrew sparked that passion again.
“With him, I’m finally getting back into it,” he said.
Hudson Model Railroad Club, located at 97 Martin St. in Plains, will host several more open houses for the winter season.
The schedule is as follows:
• Dec. 22 from 5 to 8 p.m. (Steam Engine Theme Show)
• Dec. 30 from noon to 4 p.m.
• Dec. 31 from noon to 4 p.m.
• Jan. 6 from noon to 4 p.m.
• Jan. 7 noon to 4 p.m. (Steam Engine Theme Show)
