ST. GEORGE — One man’s near 30-year obsession and another’s attempt to honor the legacy of his late father encompass just two of the backstories behind this year’s model railroad tour.
The annual tour is in its eighth year and is a production of the Color Country Model Railroad Club. The group of 30 miniature railroad enthusiasts work together to put on the free tour to the delight of young and old at homes throughout Washington County.
This year’s tour includes 17 homes featuring six outdoor displays and 11 indoor models.
“We’ve got quite a mix of different skills levels, different collector types,” Terry Schramm said of the variety of scales and model types on display at this year’s tour.
Schramm, who heads the committee in charge of organizing the club’s tour, said he has been interested in model trains since childhood. He started collecting them in 1993 to go along with his already extensive collection of miniature winter-themed buildings.
His collection has grown to 400 locomotives and 1,500 cars. His Lionel scale display includes dozens of trains circling around a meticulously placed Christmas village with a plethora of animated features beside the moving train, including an escalating gondola.
Schramm usually begins rebuilding his display in the spring, completely dismantling segments, cleaning buildings, changing light bulbs and reconstructing from scratch a new village layout.
“It freshens it up, people get to see something different every year,” he said.
Schramm said he admits it’s an expensive hobby.
“But you’ve got to spend your money somewhere,” he said, noting he could do worse with his money.
When a friend questioned his spending on the model railroad, Schramm had a simple retort: “You spend as much on beer and cigarettes as I do on this.”
For Schramm, the big payoff comes every year when he gets to display his hard work to guests.
“You do lot of work; it’s a lot of time. It’s frustrating at times. It’s fulfilling at times. When you have people come and really enjoy it, it makes it all worthwhile.”
“It’s a real ego boost, too,” he laughed.
Club member Tim Fitch of Washington City is participating in the tour for the first time this year with an outdoor garden display in his meticulously landscaped back yard.
Like Schramm, he first took an interest in building model trains when he was a boy.
His hobby was put on pause when he became an adult and entered the workforce, but he said he recently found the time to devote to the hobby again.
Fitch said his passion to start building model railroads again is in part to honor the legacy of his late father, who was also a model train enthusiast.
“A few years back, my dad was collecting trains and track. He had planned to build a layout, but he said ‘I’m going to wait for retirement,’” Fitch said. “He never got a chance to put down track before he passed away.”
He inherited his father’s gear and went to work converting his backyard into an old-west themed garden scale track, complete with waterfalls, flaming volcanoes and saloons. The railroad is named Southwestern High Frontier, or SHF Rail Road, in honor of his father’s initials.
Schedule and locations
Scale | Click on address for map | Friday Nov.11 | Saturday Nov. 12 | Sunday Nov. 13 | Monday Nov. 14 | ||
Carl Machutta | Lionel | 2439 E 2540 S | St George | 1 – 4 | 1-4 | ||
M Dave Merrill | HO | 563 W 2040 S Cir | St George | 6 – 9 | 10 – 5 | 6 – 9 | |
Dave Merrill | HO | 647 N 1275 W | St George | 5 – 8 | 12 – 4 | 5 – 8 | |
Terry Schramm | Lionel | 1891 Centenial Dr | St George | 1 – 4 | 12 – 4 | 3 – 6 | 5 – 8 |
Paul Bottino | Garden | 170 S 330 W | Ivins | 2 – 4 | 1 – 4 | ||
Jim Harper | Proto48 | 2166 Thomas Trail | Santa Clara | 6 – 9 | 1 – 5 | 6 – 9 | |
Al Thorne | Lionel | 1568 N Scenic Dr | Santa Clara | 5 – 8 | 5 – 8 | 6 – 8 | |
Tim Fitch | Garden | 2734 Rock Land Dr | Washington | 12 – 4 | 12 – 5 | 1 – 4 | 1 – 4 |
Dick Saunders | Garden | 2649 E Upper Canyon Dr | Washington | 12 – 4 | 12 – 5 | 1 – 4 | 1 – 4 |
Sun River Group | |||||||
Charles Job | HO | 4840 Festival Park Circle | Sun River | 1 – 5 | 1 – 5 | 1 – 5 | 1 – 5 |
Bruce Klawitter | HO | 1549 W Garnet Ridge Dr | Sun River | 10 – 2 | 10 – 2 | 5 – 8 | |
Bob Mallory | Lionel | 1942 Wide River | Sun River | 2 – 5 | 2 – 5 | ||
Dan Mangiaracina | Lionel | 1407 Silk Berry | Sun River | 12 – 3 | 12 – 3 | ||
Tom Meyers | Garden | 4739 High Park St | Sun River | 2 – 5 | 11 – 2 | 2 – 5 | 3 – 6 |
Byron Rasmussen | Lionel | 1731 Whitestone Dr | Sun River | 10 – 2 | 10 – 2 | 5 – 8 | |
Larry Schneider | Garden | 1681 Garnet Ridge Rd | Sun River | 3 – 6:30 | 11 – 3:30 | 12 – 4 | 4 – 6:30 |
Dick Wilson | Garden | 4818 Festival Park Cir | Sun River | 1 – 4 | 1 – 4 | 1 – 4 | 1 – 4 |
Event details
- What: Color Country Model Railroad Club Annual Open House.
- When: Friday, Nov. 11 through Monday, November 14; Times vary.
- Where: Homes throughout Washington County.
- Cost: Free.
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