THE BALLOON MAN

Railroad club celebrates anniversary with open house

 

Dave Scherbenco / The Citizens' Voice

President of the Hudson Model Railroad Club Jim Cerulli. The club is celebrating its 30th anniversary and is holding free open houses to the public.
By Paul Golias (correspondent)
from:  citizensvoice.com
Published: December 9, 2012
Wilkes Barre, Pa--Toy trains under the Christmas tree have been a tradition for more than one century. A typical layout might have two trains running in circles on a 4x8 platform.

Kids who visit will enjoy the Royal American Shows circus train. "Youngsters really love it. We run it at every show,'' Cerulli said. Royal American went bankrupt in the 70s, he said, and club members voted to bring it back to life.

Those looking for a toy train thrill this year should make tracks (pun intended) to the Hudson Model Railroad Club in Hudson. The club's super-duper layout, in HO scale, boasts 150 trains and 2,000 railroad cars running over four miles of track on a beautifully detailed miniature world.

The club is celebrating its 30th anniversary this holiday season and open houses, free to all, will be held through Jan. 6.

"Bring the kids and bring the family,'' said Jim Cerulli, club president. "Our open houses are a holiday tradition going back to 1984, two years after we began building our layout here,'' he said.

Cerulli said some families come three, four or five times each holiday season, taking in the sights and sounds of a model railroad that ranks among the top layouts in the eastern United States.

The scope of the landscaping, the mountains and the rolling terrain are breathtaking. Then add in steam and diesel locomotives of many eras and the thousands of boxcars, tank cars, coal hoppers, passenger cars and a wonderful circus train and you have a miniature world to savor.

Cerulli is an enthusiastic guide. The Larksville lad, only 22, is the youngest president in the history of the club, having been elected at age 20 and about to conclude his term. He is ineligible for reelection but he will remain a member of the core group that operates and maintains the club.
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