Otranck
CLUBS
MEMBERS OF THIS MODEL CLUB DON’T
MIND WORKIN’ ON THE RAILROAD
BY SUSAN BURGESS
PHOTOS BY ROB DOWNEY
Huddled in discussion at the corner of
the train track layout, four men hammer
out an agreement on the construction
details of a white retaining wall.
Nat Huggins is clearly in charge of this
discussion. He knows what he wants and
why. It’s just a matter of persuading the others.
It takes a while. But when they conclude,
Ken Greenstein, the train club’s vice
president, knows how many more plaster
pieces to mold, and they’ve agreed on the
number of full height, three-quarter height
and half height pieces.
Several men head home to their wives,
but Nat, Ken, and Fred Harrison stay to
work out a few scenic details. Fred makes
trees, lots of them, in all shapes and a variety
of colors. Of course when he’s in court,
wearing his lawyer hat, no one would
ever know that.
The Treasure Coast Model Railroad Club
& Historical Society has been researching
and recreating areas of the United States in
miniature for 25 years. Walk alongside the
tracks and like a giant from the fairy tales of
childhood you stride across the country,
from the coal mines of West Virginia to the
badlands of Utah, through parts of New
Jersey, to a rock quarry and hydroelectric
dam, following the interstate highways to a
busy port named for Port St. Lucie.
From 1940s gas pumps to a replica of
Tradition’s signature tower built just a few
years ago, the miniatures span about 60
years of life in the United States.
“You could spend a month working on an
area of about 2 square feet,” said club
President Neil Nappi. He had just finished
two hours of creating center lines on one of
the new roads with pin-striping tape.
If they aren’t happy with something
they’ve done, they take it down and start
over, Greenstein said. “It’s a never-ending
CHECK IT OUT
What: The Treasure Coast
Model Railroad Club &
Historical Society
Where: 273 Becker Road,
Port St. Lucie
Hours: open to the public
on Saturday mornings
Cost: There’s no charge to
go in and look at the
models. If you go, call
ahead to make sure
someone will be there.
Contact: Ken Greenstein
at 621-9636.
Web: treasurecoastmodel
railroad.com/
>>
Looking like its real-life counterpart,
a model train carries a load of logs
across a canyon in the Cascade
Mountains on the West Coast.
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