Model train buffs roll into Winsted

WINSTED — Members of a local model railroading club recently made a station stop in Winsted to share their enthusiasm for the traditional American hobby with the town’s younger residents.

The Torrington Area Model Railroaders presented a tabletop railroading demonstration at the Beardsley & Memorial Library on Feb. 11.

The group, which started with eight members in 1996, now has more than 35 active railroaders, including a small handful of Winsted residents. The club currently participates in an average of eight model railroading events each year.

“We participate in quite a few shows,� Ed Sweeney, a Winsted resident and club member, said.

For last Thursday’s demonstration, members set up a large loop of track — complete with buildings, trees and other parts of a virtual railroading landscape — with two separate locomotives running in the opposite directions in the library’s basement.

Throughout the afternoon, residents were able to stop by not only to view the trains, but to ask questions and find out more about the hobby.

Model trains, unlike toy trains, are scale replicas of actual full-size locomotives. Each train has a certain gauge, or size, that lets the railroader know what type of track it will run on. The gauge of a model train is the measurement between the two outside rails of a model train track.

The Torrington group, which meets every Wednesday night at its McGuiness Street clubhouse, right now runs four different scaled track setups, Sweeney said.

“A lot of the fellows have their layouts at home, but a lot have them at the club,� he said.

It takes several members to plan, execute and set up the large tracks for a clubhouse or show: an electrician to keep things running, a draftsman to design the track, an engineer to put together and run the train itself and a surveyor to ensure that everything is, literally, on the level.

“It works out very well. Everyone works together as a team,� Sweeney said.

He added that the club is now preparing for a show in West Hartford next month.

“And we’re always open on a Wednesday night,� Sweeney said.

The Torrington Area Model Railroaders clubhouse is at 123 McGuiness St. in Torrington. For more information, attend one of the group’s Wednesday night open meetings from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., or call Phil Lent at 860-489-8961.