HOBBIES
“This is the first time we are visiting and we were so surprised
Port St. Lucie Magazine 37
to see how big it was,” says Linda Ameen.
MEMBERSHIP COMES FROM ALL WALKS
“We have the whole gene pool here,” says Bob Gastaldi,
a 12-year member. “We have wonderful guys here, all nice
people.”
Six members worked six months to make a Christmas module
for the Port St. Lucie Civic Center, but some club displays
take more than a year to complete.
“It is a lifetime of effort and expense to build something
like this, and a lot of guys cannot do it,” says Bond. “Many
love the trains, but every person has a different talent. Some
is technical. For others it is the creative artistic side of getting
the landscape just right.”
“I am a retired mechanical engineer,” says Gastaldi, who
likes to work with the locomotives. “Some are artists; others
like to do the technical work. Everybody has a niche, whatever
background they came from or are in now they bring to
the club.”
THE NEXT GENERATION OF MODEL BUILDERS
“I think if the younger ones are exposed to this they will
get enchanted,” says Bob Wiseman. “If we don’t have the
youngsters get in here and become enamored of trains this
is going to go by the wayside. That is why we have open
houses and displayed at the civic center to draw in visitors to
see the trains.”
The members hope that by introducing youngsters to the
hobby, they can fill them with the same passion that fired
their own imaginations. E
IF YOU GO
Open houses at the Treasure Coast Model Railroad Club,
273 SW Becker Road, Port St. Lucie, are Tuesday evenings
from 7 to 9 and every Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon.
To see videos and photos, visit www.tcmrr.org.
Technology allows members to use LED lights for billboards, street lights
and marquees.
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/www.tcmrr.org