Warsaw-N-Gauge Model Railroad Club Members Share Passion For Trains
Posted
Jennifer Peryam-jperyam@timesuniononline.com
Warsaw-N-Gauge Model Railroad Club members share not only their love of model trains, but also educating others about their knowledge. The club was started in January in Warsaw by J.C. Sparks, who also is a member of the Northeast Indiana N-Scale Model Railroad Club in Fort Wayne. “I wanted to start a club locally that, myself, as well as other train enthusiasts, could participate in,” Sparks said during a recent club gathering at Warsaw Community Public Library. The club meets the third Saturday of the month year-round from 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the library to assemble scenery, the train tracks and base. The community can visit and see the model train setups. Sparks posted a flyer at the Pierceton Train Show last December to see if anyone was interested in joining a train club in Warsaw. The club started with two members, J.C. and his son, Andrew, 24, both of Warsaw. Sparks’ wife, Vanessa, also is a member of the train group. The group has now grown to a dozen members from Warsaw, Winona Lake, Goshen and Mentone. Families or individuals can be a part of the club, with dues being $20 per year per family or individual. “We have had kids come in who enjoy the sound effects board with train whistles and horns, and they were more excited with that while their dads were watching the trains run,” Sparks said. “In N-gauge trains, the ‘n’ stands for 9 millimeter and is the spacing of the train axles on the track,” Sparks said. Sparks said people of all ages enjoy model trains. “Model trains are the greatest hobby in the world because anybody can be involved at any age and any skill level,” Sparks said. Setting Up The Trains There are 100 model train cars that can run on the N-gauge track. Members can create landscapes out of styrofoam and paint them. The train base is made of quarter-inch plywood and painted. The track is a KATO unit track from Japan and snaps together. The group purchases the track and other model pieces online and at local hobby shops. The train is operated with a power supply, and can run on a scale from 5 to 90 miles per hour once the track is leveled. The train module has a sound effects generator that puts off a steam engine sound, including whistles and horns and a chugging sound. There also is a diesel engine noise. The train module also features a replica of the power station on Ind. 25 by Zimmer Road and Lewis Salvage. There also is a module that replicates a bridge in Wabash that crosses the Wabash River. There also are model cars, churches, trees, a farm with a combine and a cornfield, There are power controls that are attached to the model train track and that is how the train operates. Sparks’ Love Of Trains Sparks, 50, said his love of trains began at age 5. He has been putting together model trains ever since. “My mother has a baby photo of me wearing a train engineer hat and a shirt that says, ‘I’m an engineer,’” J.C. said. Sparks said he remembers visiting his grandmother in Kentucky watching the coal trains go by. His neighbor, Homer Kaufman, Wabash, was a firefighter on the railroad shoveling coal into the steam engines. Sparks said he remembers at a young age his neighbor telling him stories about the railroad. Sparks said he remembers inspiring his son Andrew’s love for trains when he got his son an O-scale train that was his when he was a boy. Sparks said he has an N-gauge model train layout at his home. Andrew, 24, said his dad’s love of trains inspired his interest in trains. They have gone to train shows together since he was young. “As far back as I can remember, I saw N-Gauge or HO model trains around our house, and as I’ve gotten older my dad has taught me the building process,” Andrew said. “I grew up in Warsaw and did not have a lot of exposure to trains other than the Center Street track, but being that my dad is a huge fan of trains I fell into it by proxy,” Andrew said. Andrew said the best part of the club is allowing members to be creative. Train Members Club Experiences Train club members said they enjoy the comradery of meeting to work on the train models. Bobby Humphries, Mentone, said he found out about the club when he picked up a flyer at the Pierceton Train Depot. Humphries, 42, said he got interested in trains because of his father and grandfather, who also enjoyed model railroading. “We had model train layouts at our house growing up and I remember working on them,” Humphries said. Humphries said he enjoys building train modules and scenery for the train track. “It doesn’t bother me when I get stopped at railroad crossings because I get to watch a train cross even as a truck driver,” Humphries said. Humphries said he has been a truck driver for the past 19 years, and has seen trains in Canada, Colorado and Wyoming. “I have always had a fascination with pulling weight and like to make engines work, whether it be a train or truck,” Humphries said. Besides being a member of the Warsaw-N-Gauge Model Railroad Club, Gary Berkey, Goshen, also is a member of the Indiana Model Train Visitors Club and Elkhart Model Railroad Club. Berkey, 57, is a train vendor who has sold train models in the area. He discovered the Warsaw club when he was attending the train show at the Pierceton Train Depot. Berkey said he enjoys making the scenery on the train model. He also used to photograph trains, and took his first train photos when he was a teenager and lived by the Norfolk Southern Marion District railroad line in Goshen. “I like to add the details that mean a lot to the overall scale of the layout and the trains,” he said. “I’ve liked trains as long as I was old enough to know what a train was, it’s in my blood.” For more information about the club, call Sparks at 574-269-5187, e-mail warsaw-n-gauge@mail.com or visit the Facebook page Warsaw.N.Gauge
