'Fascinated': Popular model train show chugs into region

Canadians’ fascination with trains stayed on track throughout the weekend at the Model Train Show. 

Presented by Barrie-Allandale Railway Modellers at Bradford Greenhouses Garden Gallery in Springwater Township, just outside Barrie, the show was expected to attract about 2,000 people Saturday and Sunday.

With 40 model-train vendors and 10 exhibitors showing engines, train cars and scenery, there was something for everyone.

David Nightingale, an exhibitor from Belleville, said something very basic attracts children to model trains.

“Kids are just fascinated with the movement (of the engine and cars) and the scenery,” he said, pointing to the Canadian National (CN) switching yard layout in front of him.

Nightingale added the ideas for scenery that goes with trains don't need to be restricted to reality.

“Some people match areas; some people make it about what they have in their head,” he said.

Exhibitor Kevin Moore, from the Mount Forest area, was at the Model Train Show with son Benjamin from Barrie.

They had model O Gauge, three-rail Lionel engines and rolling stock, with diesel and steam trains for CN, Canadian Pacific Railway, Ontario Northland and Great Northern, from Manitoba and British Columbia.

“It’s a wonderful hobby that keeps the mind sharp,” Moore said. “People are still intrigued with trains.”

Henk Blom, secretary of Barrie-Allandale Railway Modellers, said there are plenty of reasons for people to be interested in trains.

They remain, he said, the most inexpensive way to transport large quantities of goods on land.

And model trains can become a hobby for adults with just a little time and not a lot of money.

“It’s something to do in retirement, keeps them busy, something they have in common with others,” he added. “You can have a coffee and talk railroads.”

Blom said COVID-19 spiked interest in model trains because when kids couldn’t see their friends during the pandemic, they still had their trains.

“For kids, it’s something to do,” he said.

For more information on model trains and shows, visit barm.ca.