Model train show a hit with rail enthusiasts
It was smiles all around at the Kingston Model Train Show at the Andy Murphy Midtown Center on Sunday.
The show featured 100 different booths, operating N-scale, HO-scale and G-scale model railroad layouts along with tables of Lionel Trains and a table with operating Lego train sets — including a Hogwarts Express.
The show was created by brothers Nick and Matt Savatgy seven years ago, reviving a train show that was once held in the Armory before security was tightened after 9/11.
“I grew up in Kingston. I wanted to get a positive activity in Midtown,” Matt Savatgy said. “We try to make it a family.”
Among the kid-friendly activities offered was a place where kids could build a Lego train car that would be placed onto the operating layout.
Savatgy said he hopes the show serves as a gateway to getting more younger people interested in the hobby.
The show also featured representatives from local railroad attractions, including the Catskill Mountain Railroad, the Delaware and Ulster Railroad in Arkville and the Trolley Museum of New York.
Among the fans was Brian Parr, of Saugerties, who was wearing an old Metro-North trainman’s uniform. A member of the Middletown and New Jersey Railroad Historical Society, he said he’s been coming to show since its inception.
Chris Leak and Joe Napolitano of the Olde Newburgh Model Railroad Club showed off their HO-Scale layout to Joseph and Gino Roggio, of Highland. The couple said they like to go out and watch trains along the CSX River Line, which runs through Midtown.
Napolitano pointed out how he detailed a CSX diesel locomotive complete with reflectors and dirt and grime that made it look like it’d been in service for decades.
Lew Casey, a retired engineer that worked for CSX, and its predecessors Penn Central and Conrail, and Ron Cardis were giving a presentation representing rail safety organization Operation Lifesaver.
“We’re talking to people about the dangers around railroad tracks and crossings,” Casey said.
They urged visitors to their booth to remember that railroad tracks are private property, trains stick at least three feet out from the tracks and a freight train traveling 50 mph can take a mile or more to stop.