by Ken Lahmers, Aurora Advocate editor
Recently, I got together with a group of adults who gather on a regular basis to play with toys.
Those who are really into the hobby spend many leisuretime hours playing with these "toys," which actually are a major investment for them.
After my recent columns about area train routes and railroad depots, Ron Wigal of Akron contacted me about the National Model Railroad Association's Mid-Central Region.
Wigal is assistant superintendent of Division 1, which includes Portage, Summit, Stark, Trumbull, Mahoning, Carroll, Columbiana, Harrison and Wayne counties.
Wigal asked me if I'd like to see Superintendent' David H. Hazlett's HO scale layout in the basement of the latter's condominium on the near west side of Akron.
I was eager to accept Wigal's offer and visited Hazlett's home Jan. 26, spending three hours observing, talking to the two men and running a train.
I, like many boys growing up in the 1950s and 1960s, had a small O Gauge layout which occupied a 4-by-8-foot piece of plywood in the basement.
The track ran around a miniature farm, complete with barn, fences and plastic animals. I put drops of oil into the steam engine's smokestack to create puffs of smoke as the train moved.
I spent countless hours operating the train and creating new track layouts.
Believe me, folks, Hazlett has one fantastic layout and collection of HO scale trains, and I thoroughly enjoyed visiting his setup. I hope to return someday.
Hazlett, 60, a retired teacher, has been a model railroader for 38 years of his adult life. Wigal, 59, is new to the hobby and hopes to begin building a layout at his Akron home soon.
Using his first name and last name initials, Hazlett named his layout DHRail. It has 1,190 feet of track (a 232-foot mainline), three yards and various industrial buildings.
The layout is on a wooden Wheat Co-op and Culeoka Wood Co.
The landscape also includes stations, signal towers, water tanks, coal tipple, bridge and more industrial buildings. Hazlett said there's a reason for every name on the layout, and encourages visitors "to just ask" about them.
He has only one steam locomotive, because he said he's not a big fan of them.
The locos and cars bear the names of nearly all major railroad lines which have operated throughout the nation at one time or another.
He also has cars bearing the names of companies such as Ralston Purina and Continental Grain.
Wigal said the Mid-Central Region's Division I has about 105 members, many of whom get together for weekly "operation sessions" at Hazlett's home.
Hazlett said up to 12 people at a time conduct operations spelled out on an instruction card and condensed switchlist determined by a computer software program.
For example, one instruction card read: "Leave pushing EB (eastbound) for Diamond Mill at 8:30 p.m.; leave Diamond Mill pulling WB (westbound) for G&SS Yard at 8:55."
The instructions tell the operator what cars to pull out of the yard (all cars and locos are numbered), and where to take them.
The operation uses DCC (digital command control) technology. Locos are run with a hand-held unit resembling a TV remote control. It controls direction and speed.
Also on the unit are horn, bell and light functions. Some locos have headlights just like the real ones, and the horn and bell sound when a specific button is pushed.
Circuit boards are located at various spots to control switches from dozens of yard tracks onto secondary and runaround tracks, and eventually to the main line.
Hazlett said ho gauge is the most popular size in model railroading. N and Z gauge are smaller and O, S and large gauge are bigger. Large gauge track is 1 3/4 inches wide.
Plastic model train cars can range in price from about $20 to $50 and locos from $100 to $250. Brass engines and cars are more expensive, and gauge and technology affect the prices.
Bigtime enthusiasts can have tens of thousands of dollars wrapped up in their layouts.
A famous model railroader is rock music star Rod Stewart. According to Model Railroader magazine, a copy of which Wigal gave to me, his layout measures 23 by 124 feet.
The magazine said Stewart built his layout, called the Three Rivers & Grand Street Railroad, over the last 12 years. It has very detailed "city scene" landscaping, with magnificent signage and some buildings that are 5 feet high.
Division 1 is among 11 divisions in the Mid-Central Region. Eight of the divisions cover counties in Ohio. There are several regions nationwide and dozens of divisions.
The NMRA was founded in 1935 in Milwaukee.
Dozens of model railroad shows take place across the nation each year. The Medina County fairgrounds hosts a big one four times a year, with the next date being April 6.
Persons who would like details about modeling railroading can visit the NMRA's Web site at www.nmra.org or the Mid-Central Region's site at www.midcentral-region-nmra.org.
E-mail: klahmers@recordpub.com
Phone: 330-688-0088 ext. 3155