Model railroaders fight state for spot
Napa Valley Expo seeks to evict club, there for 52 years, to modernize space
Two years ago, members of the Napa Valley Model Railroad Historical Society added a tiny vineyard to their 2,400-square-foot train layout, replacing what had once been an old ranch.
Hobbyists at the club believed the update was in the name of historical accuracy — a nod to the wine industry that has dominated the region for the past half century, causing sweeping physical and economic changes to the valley.
That same “progress” is now threatening the 52-year-old club, whose landlords at the Napa Valley Exposition announced last year that tiny trains aren’t in its future plans; they hope to modernize the space for events such as the powerhouse BottleRock Napa Valley music, wine and food festival, which on May 25-28 will celebrate its sixth year on the Expo grounds.
The result has been legal maneuvering and a grassroots public relations battle, as the railroaders try to save their miniaturized wonderland from a state-run agency that wants to maximize the tourism-friendly moneymaking potential of the space.
“We’ve decided that it’s worth a fight,” said Daniel Jonas, president of the model railroad group. “There is no constituency out there that wants us to go away, except the
“We’ve decided that it’s worth a fight. There is no constituency out there that wants us to go away, except the Expo board.” Daniel Jonas, president, Napa Valley Model Railroad Historical Society
Expo board.”
The battle is full of metaphors and David vs. Goliath imagery. The Expo leaders want to literally uproot a miniature version of Napa Valley as it looked before the tourism boom, and replace that nostalgia trip with parking spaces.
Expo leaders, who have declined comment to the press since the litigation started last year, maintain that a renovated space — with the trains removed or moved somewhere else — is in the community’s long-term interests. (BottleRock is not a party in the litigation. A representative declined comment.)
But the battle has clearly resonated with longtime residents and those who grew up in Napa, who fear the attempted eviction is as a symbol of something greater.
“I just can’t see why it can’t stay where it is,” said Kristine Dworkin, a Napa native who grew up with the trains, and later found the place to be a soothing destination for her autistic son. “It’s kind of a quirky, fun sentimental part of Napa, and there’s not much of that anymore.”
Walking into the model railroad club, after passing by a full-size crossing signal planted in the grass, is a one-of-akind time warp, where visitors become voyeur to a Napa Valley that barely exists today.
The Napa Valley Model Railroad Historical Society was founded in 1966, using a pair of World War II-era Quonset huts donated to the group. Trains traverse a boomerang-shaped layout, passing through finely detailed replicas of Napa, Calistoga, St. Helena and other passes, as filtered through an early Bruce Springsteen song.
The layout features historic Napa Valley rail yards and mills of yesteryear, reflecting the industrial and pre-wine agricultural roots of the region. Along with the miniature vineyard, the layout has a working drive-in theater, with “The Wizard of Oz” playing on an index card-size video screen. (Look closer, and see a small teen in a white T-shirt, half the size of a Lego figure, sneaking out of the trunk of a car.)
The club members, mostly men in middle age and older, now use smartphones and iPads to make the trains — sometimes five or more on the layout at a time — shift tracks to their proper destinations. It’s mesmerizing entertainment; when watching the trains, it’s hard to keep track of time.
The railroad group didn’t panic a few years ago when the Expo board started soliciting feedback for a multi-milliondollar makeover for the 34-acre property. Former train club President John Rodgers, a member since 1966, said master plans have been floated twice before in previous decades, with no followthrough. “Our attitude was, ‘Well here we go again,’ ” he said.
Then, last July, the Expo board sent their tenants a notice that stated they would have to vacate their space on Jan. 1, 2018. Instead of caving in, the club rallied the community, gathered 5,500 petition signatures and more than 1,500 protest letters, and filed a lawsuit claiming the Expo moved forward with irrigation and sod plantings before a California Environmental Quality Act evaluation of the plan.
The Expo responded with an unlawful detainer action, attempting to evict the club before their lawsuit gained momentum. Club members said Expo leaders sent fire inspectors and engineers into the building in February, looking for an excuse to shut the place down.
“To try to throw us out, before (the CEQA lawsuit) is decided, is wrong,” Jonas said. “In fact, it’s mean-spirited and disingenuous.”
Expo officials have largely remained quiet on the subject outside of meetings, legal action and an Aug. 8, 2017, letter to the Napa Valley Register from Expo Board of Directors President John F. Dunbar.
“It is important to note that the 34-acre Napa Valley Expo is owned by the state,” Dunbar wrote. “The Expo Board is responsible for operating the property in a manner that is financially selfsupporting, prioritizes health and safety, and serves our community.”
The railroad is still free to visitors, and shared with the public during open houses and annual Expo events such as the Town & Country Fair. They close their doors during BottleRock, the Expo’s highest-profile annual event, which this year will bring headliners Bruno Mars, the Killers and Muse to stages on the other side of the Expo grounds.
The master plan shows many changes beyond the removal of the railroad, which is near the entrance of the Expo. The new event space would have a much cleaner layout, and the Expo board said it has potential to attract more events and increase revenue by millions of dollars a year.
The Expo board has cited the club’s low rent (railroad officials acknowledge it was $2,400 for all of last year) as a factor in the decision to evict. But Jonas said the board had never asked for a big rent hike, adding the railroaders always considered their well-below-market deal as an acknowledgement that their free destination benefits the Expo and the community.
That last part — serving the community — is at the heart of the debate.
Scott Sedgley, a Napa city councilman and president of the Napa County Historical Society, said he has conversations about the old and new Napa on a daily basis.
The model railroad dispute flares up as Napa County residents grapple with Measure C, a woodland protection initiative on the June 5 ballot that would limit the spread of vineyards into the region’s hillsides.
Sedgley, who as a Napa politician doesn’t have a say in the state issue, said he understands the fair board’s position, attempting to be financially responsible as economic support from state leaders dries up.
At the same time, he added, “a lot of the residents in the county don’t feel the electeds are listening, with this everexpanding tourism business, and wineries that resemble event centers. Downtown Napa now has four-story hotels that never would have been imagined in this area.”
Dworkin, who grew up in Napa in the 1970s and ’80s and now lives in Mountain View, admitted it’s easier to recognize the change from a distance.
“When I tell people I’m originally from Napa I always hear, ‘It’s so wonderful, all these foodie hot spots,’ ” Dworkin said. “I always have to correct them and say, ‘I’m not from that Napa. That Napa is only about 20 years old.’ I’m from the blue-collar town, when the social event of the season was the destruction derby at the Town & Country Fair. And now that’s not there anymore.”
As the legal action crawls forward, supporters of the model train club continue to solicit legal funds on their website, www.nvmrc.org, and play a waiting game. The next hearing for the CEQA lawsuit is May 1, although the railroaders believe the Expo is seeking a route to evict them before then.
The Expo proposed a new home, connected to the Napa Valley Wine Train, which the railroaders say would potentially be an 80 percent cut in space. The move would require scuttling the current track, which represents generations of detailed work.
Jonas still hopes the board “comes to its senses,” and finds a more fitting alternative place for the model railroad in its future. The railroaders would even consider opening up the facility during BottleRock, with a few extra guards to manage the inebriated crowds.
“We’re happy to do that. We think a lot of the plans that the Expo board has are actually good plans,” Jonas said. “We just think throwing out the baby with the bathwater is not the best way to implement it.”
Dworkin would like to see one win for the longtime Napa residents, who have watched the region make too many decisions that cater to expensive spa-infused day trips, bridal parties and foodiefriendly music festivals.
“We’ve already lost so much in the name of tourism,” Dworkin said. “This little piece of quirky Napa history staying isn’t going to threaten the tourism dollar. I’m confident of that. A bunch of trains isn’t going to change that.”