By ALANA RAYMAN
The Scarborough Model Railroad Club has been a destination for railway enthusiasts for more than 40 years.
The club has created a vast model railway operation that features an extensive layout of land and locomotives with scenes that impress both young and old.
The club’s 26 members meet at different times from Tuesday to Sunday to make sure everything is running smoothly and to keep adding to the impressive creation.
President Mohen George grew up around trains in India and continued to work on them as an adult. He decided to make model trains a hobby in retirement.
“Once you get into the hobby it can get addictive,” said George.
“It’s not just about running trains, it’s about building stuff. There’s a lot of stuff that one can build and do, and everyone has their own talents. I do a lot of the electronics,” he said.
The scenery is realistic from trees and mountains to bridges and old-time factories.
“You start with the woodwork first, and then you start putting the tracks in, and then you can work with the scenery,” explained George.
“Everything is to scale, meaning if you take everything from real life and reduce it proportionally. If you look at all the details on the engine and you blow it up 160 times, it would be exactly the same.”
The operation is a high-tech one.
“Each 1950s-style locomotive has a chip that is connected to a main computer control board that can run up to 100 trains and also control the signals,” said George.
There’s also an impressive lighting system for the model buildings that make up the town scenes and look great at night. The engines also have sound systems and the model factories make realistic noises that all add to the effect.
The layout features freight trains, a coal mine and steam engine yards that used to come in and out of different Canadian towns and at one point Scarborough.
The club also travels to go to trade shows, other clubs and flea markets around North America to swap ideas and congregate.
The club itself is having a few upcoming shows and open houses on Nov.24 and Dec. 1 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day.
The club is located at 17 Jeavons Ave., in the Birchmount and Danforth roads area.
Admission to the open houses is $5 for adults, $3 for seniors and $2 for children, and only cash will be accepted.
For more information about the club, please visit www.scarborough-model-railroaders.org
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