All aboard!
Peninsula gathers steam for railroad event
BY PATRICK WEBB
Trains don’t run on the Long Beach Pen-
insula anymore — except for tiny ones, that
is.
On Saturday and Sunday, train enthusi-
asts will celebrate Clamshell Railroad Days,
an annual event highlighting model trains
and local railroad history.
The event takes place at the Columbia
Pacifi c Heritage Museum, which reopened
earlier this month.
“I had HO-gauge trains when I was in
junior high, like a lot of kids,” he said. “We
would have a piece of 4’ by 8’ plywood with
a track in a circle.”
The hobby was put on hold during his
31-year career sailboat racing in Seattle.
When he moved to the peninsula, he worked
with volunteers in Astoria restoring a real
locomotive, then joined the model club.
“It’s a hobby,” he said. “Some people
If You Go
‘A hobby’
Clamshell Railroad Days
The weekend event is pleasurable work
for members of the Peninsula Model Rail-
road Club, who relax around miniature rail-
road layouts in their homes year-round.
Members carefully pack up their modular
designs to share with similar enthusiasts at
shows in Puyallup, Washington, and Mon-
roe, Washington.
All the club’s members channel their
love for real trains into a devotion to model
versions.
Mark Clemmens of Oysterville is the
group’s secretary-treasurer.
10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday and Sunday
The
Columbia Pacifi c Heritage Museum, 115
S.E. Lake St., Ilwaco, Washington
Admission costs $5 and is valid both days;
children under 12 get in free
enjoy the modeling. I enjoy the electrics, the
wiring, and a little bit of the scenery and lay-
ing track.”
Model train enthusiasts divide into
groups who prefer diff erently sized railroad
lines (called gauges, usually with a letter like
See Page 5
Photos by Patrick Webb
Model railroad enthusiasts share similar enthusiasm for their hobby, but they split into
diff erent groups who favor a certain gauge rail. This determines the size of the trains, carriages
and buildings.
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Meticulous detail is required to determine the scale and appearance of buildings, including train stations, depots and foliage surrounding the
railroad lines.