The Abington Lines Model Railroad Club is celebrating its 40th anniversary with a series of open houses inviting visitors to step into a miniature world of trains, mountains, cities, countryside and harbor towns, all under one roof.
The club, located at 2066 Second Street Pike in Richboro, will open its doors for visitors to experience its HO-scale model railroad layout and see trains traveling through a variety of detailed scenes. The anniversary open houses offer an opportunity for longtime model railroad enthusiasts and newcomers alike to explore the club and its four decades of history.
Visitors can follow trains as they travel through urban, rural, mountain and harbor scenes. The layout features a towering viaduct, numerous bridges spanning rivers, creeks and roadways, as well as tunnels where trains disappear before re-emerging several minutes later on another part of the layout.
The club's layout occupies a 20-by-60-foot room and features more than 13 scale miles of mainline track. It typically takes a train nearly 20 minutes to complete one lap around the room.
Multiple steam- and diesel-powered trains run along the east- and westbound mainlines, complete with the nostalgic sounds associated with railroading.
Among the many scenes visitors can discover is a seaside wharf where freight cars are loaded and unloaded from a floating barge. A trolley travels from a bustling cityscape through the countryside, dropping passengers off in a town nestled against a mountain.
The layout also features a row of buildings with detailed interiors and a steam-powered narrow-gauge train modeled after the Denver & Rio Grande Western. The train travels from a logging camp to a working sawmill before exchanging cars at a terminal with its standard-gauge counterpart.
Visitors may even catch a glimpse of the Ringling Bros. Circus train as it travels to its next destination.
The 40th anniversary open houses will be held Dec. 5, 6, 12, 13, 26 and 27, Jan. 2, 3, 9, 10, and Feb. 6, 7, 13 and 14. The club will be open from noon to 4 p.m. each day.
Admission is by donation. Visitors will also have the opportunity to participate in raffles for model train sets, and those interested in learning more about joining the club can inquire about membership.
For more information about the Abington Lines Model Railroad Club and its 40th anniversary open houses, call 215-598-7720.
