CASPER, Wyo. — The 27th annual Central Wyoming Model Railroad Association Open House drew exceptional crowds Saturday at the club’s North Casper location, according to charter member and secretary Homer Whitlock.
The younger generation got a turn at the control from the old-timers. Young Emmy, already an avid Lego fan, asked her mother to get her a set. The elaborate recreations of Casper and prototypical railroad towns have a unique and timeless charm distinct from the plastic toys and action figures kids are used to.
It takes years to build those landscapes, said club president Nathan Lang. For some enthusiasts, building the model trees and towns is the primary appeal. For others, it’s laying tracks, and for others, it’s replicating a certain type of train.
The club has been at its location for 18 years. (Before that, it was at the Commissary Mall.) Since Whitlock began his hobby in the late ’50s, the technology has changed quite a bit. Trains used to be built of cardboard and ran on dry cell batteries. Older wheels “rolled like bricks” — unless you sprung for the Lindberg brand. The innovation of flexible track “was the cat’s meow,” Whitlock said.
Now, each locomotive has its own circuit board and operates on a unique frequency from digitally-controlled currents transmitted by a booster pack. This allows trains to change directions and operate simultaneously on the track.
For Whitlock and Gray, the fascination with model trains began with the life-size variety. Both are “rail fanners,” with memories of watching trains come through towns and keeping track of their schedules.
Whitlock remembers perching above the tunnels on the rail line in Bingham Canyon and pitching rocks into the open passing cars.
Gray’s fascination sent him to the library to research the history of rail lines in Casper, including the now-defunct Chicago Northwest Rail line, which is now a concrete path through Casper).
The club is always open to the public, and newcomers can get started with kits for sale. There is still blank landscape ready to be shaped and painted.
(Gregory Hirst) 
(Gregory Hirst) 
(Gregory Hirst) 
(Gregory Hirst) (Gregory Hirst) 
(Gregory Hirst)
