19Th Annual Spring Model Train Show and Swap Meet

METRO Model Railroad Club’s 19TH annual railroad show and swap meet on Sunday, March 9th at Circle B Recreation on Highway 60 in Cedarburg will run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Show Chairman Jim Bartelt said the club is constantly striving to make the show fresh and to show the public the interesting things that are happening in the world of model trains.

METRO will be bringing back its own HO layout that has twice been judged best in the nation at the National Train Show. One of the most highly detailed layouts ever built and now freshened up after many years of display, it has many animations and numerous (and humorous) details designed to delight children of all ages.

The Lakeshore O-Scale Railroaders will again be bringing a Lionel layout to the show and permitting anyone to run the trains. Kids can also fire missiles from train cars, unload barrels and milk cans, and enjoy seeing in small scale some of their favorite movie and TV characters.

The Kettle Moraine Ballast Scorchers club of West Bend, WI will bring their popular N scale layout. It features various scenes of small town America with large numbers of vehicles and various eye catching scenes such as a train derailment, a train watching park, and interesting industries served by railroads.

Other returnees include the Badgerland S Gaugers showing the classic American Flyer scale trains as well as new S-scale trains that are currently available. The WIZ KidZ, who will be bringing Z scale trains. These are models so small that a layout can be built in a cigar box. The West Bend, Jackson and Southern will showing examples of G scale equipment that is most frequently used to create outdoor garden railroads, and also some #1 scale trains, which are trains large enough to actually ride on.

In addition, more than 50 tables of dealers and swappers will be on hand to buy, sell and trade model railroad equipment, both new and used. The many club members and dealers on hand will be able to help modelers young and old with layout design, problem solving, and scenic hints.

Attendees can sign up for door prizes which include railroading books and one year subscriptions to Kalmbach Publishing’s magazine Model Railroader.

This is the 19th consecutive year for the show, which has become the largest in southeast Wisconsin after Milwaukee’s TrainFest. Membership in all of the clubs showing is open; attendees can talk to club members at the show for membership details. METRO can also be found on the web at www.metrorrclub.org.

Admission is by a $3 donation for adults; as always, children under 12 are admitted free when accompanied by an adult. Commercial sponsors of this year’s show include Kalmbach Publishing, Dr. Daniel Witkowski DDS Gentle Family Dentistry and Tires Unlimited Automotive Services.