Model train show in Monroe will get kids on track

Published 3:45 pm Thursday, February 4, 2010

If you’re a fan of all things rail, chug on down to the Evergreen State Fairgrounds this weekend for the 19th annual Model Train Show and Swap Meet put on by the United NorthWest Model Railroad Club.

The show, which drew more than 3,000 visitors last year, is a veritable festival of model trains, which are displayed in a variety of scales, from really little to the kind of train set you might see as a backyard ornament.

Visitors can explore 22 operating track layouts in sizes that range from 8 feet long by 2 feet, up to the largest layout at 38 feet by 50 feet and “virtually everything in between,” show coordinator Susan Evans said.

Most of these layouts incorporate elaborately detailed scenery as well, some with multiple trains running at the same time.

There’s also a layout that displays the wooden Little Brio and little Thomas Trains that children will be able to push around the track.

Guests can attend hands-on clinics to learn the different aspects of building a model railroad. There will be a rock-building clinic for participants to learn how to paint and age rock-type scenery made out of plaster. There are also clinics on how to weather railroad cars, paint backboards and make scenery such as trees.

Kids can visit the coloring station, the train-shaped bouncy house or pretend to be a real railroad engineer by using a simulator owned by Operation Lifesaver.

“It really is neat,” Evans said.

The 19th annual Model Train Show and Swap Meet runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday at the Evergreen State Fairgrounds, 14405 179th Ave. SE, Monroe.

Admission is $7 for adults, $5 for juniors and free for children 9 and under. All proceeds go to the Snohomish County 4-H Foundation. For more information, go to www.unwclub.org/unwshow.html.

Theresa Goffredo: 425-339-3424; goffredo@heraldnet.com.