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Take the Kids: Check out the model railroad at Raleigh's Union Station

Get a closer look at the model railroad display on view at Raleigh's Union Station.

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By
Sarah Lindenfeld Hall
, Go Ask Mom editor
RALEIGH, N.C. — Kids love model railroads. Just ask any parent, who has spent longer than they ever would have expected as their kids stared at a miniature display. And ask just about any of the members who are part of the North Raleigh Model Railroad Club, which has a model train display at Raleigh Union Station this month.

Their display, which is on view on December weekends on the train station's second floor, is drawing in families with kids, who are thrilled to look and explore.

For some kids, it's all about the trains. They'll walk laps around the display tables, following the various trains as they pull in and out of the teeny tiny stations. For other kids, it's more about the carefully crafted scenes that play out in each of the different modules and come complete with miniature buildings, vehicles and little people going about their business. One girl, who spent a good amount of time taking it all in, told club member Terry Baker simply this, "I like the people."

When I visited the display a couple of weeks ago, a handful of people were there to check out the display, which is about 38-feet long and 16-feet wide. An N scale display, it represents a 1:160 scale replica of an actual railway. If the entire display was full size, it would stretch about three miles.

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At any given time, the display has about 10 trains running. And though each of the scenes require a lot of hands-on craftsmanship, it's definitely high tech. Club members operate the trains from their smartphones.

The display features some real places, including Breakneck Mountain, which is actually along the Hudson River in New York. That scene includes a scavenger hunt, which will have you searching for a man watching TV outside, children playing and a tire swing in a tree, among other details. There also are plenty of imaginary locations and scenes that unfold as you walk around and around the track.

"You could walk by here 10 times and the 11th time, you'll see something new," said Joel McCurry, a longtime member of the club.

And from time to time, as the model railway's crossing signal sounds, you'll also hear the rumble and noise from the real trains chugging along outside. When that happened during my visit, the little boys who were there to take it all in couldn't decide whether to rush to the big windows to see the real train - or keep their eyes on the little ones. (I have more about seeing the big trains via the station's observation deck and platforms in an earlier post.)

The display is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturdays and Sundays, through Dec. 30. This event is free and open to the public. Parking is available at The Dillon, which is across the street from the station at 223 South West St.

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