Now arriving, a decades-old hobby, made new again — at least to the wide-eyed wonder of today’s kids. Children are discovering the enjoyment of model trains, as introduced by parents who grew up with the original Rail King and Lionel sets of the 1950s.
At Berwyn Toy Trains and Models, Tom Svestka demonstrates sophisticated modern trains, complete with computer driven, realistic sounds of chugging engines, steam whistles and conductor’s announcements.
Svestka says you can get started for $150-$300 with a basic, five-car set — a locomotive, caboose and three cars. But if you have a future city planner at the controls, you can spend much more for the crossing gates, street lamps, neighboring model houses and landscaping that bring a train set to life.
The trains themselves replicate some famous machines that moved people and freight across this country. A sleek silver bullet called the Pioneer Zephyr is modeled after the train that made a historic nonstop run from Denver to Chicago and is now part of a permanent exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry.
One of the most popular sets is a CTA train that uses actual recordings to announce 10 stops along the Brown Line in Chicago. With this commuter set, you can hear a passenger running to catch the train and the familiar sound of “L” trains rumbling down the tracks. Model trains as a hobby are generally a winter pastime in these parts, ranging in size from a small circular living room set up to elaborate, basement-dwelling miniature cities.
But kids of all ages seem to have the desire to get on board.
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WGN-Ch. 9’s Joanie Lum surveys the bewildering world of shopping in this column, which runs here once a month. The week of each column, Joanie will have more on Thursday’s “WGN News at Nine” and Friday’s “WGN Morning News.
Send inquiries to meng@tribune.com
