NICK GOSNELL
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The Center of the Nation Model Railroad Expo is this weekend at the Pride of Kansas building on the Kansas State Fairgrounds on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Sunday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
There will be layouts for everything from Tiny Z-scale all the way up to Lionel trains. Lonnie Demoret is bringing his O-Gauge layout again this year.
"There are six lanes of traffic that the kids get to run on a tablet," Demoret said. "I have six different types of trains that run on there. On Saturday, I usually run a Challenger on the outside lane and on Sunday, we run the Big Boy on the outside lane. It's an opportunity to run two of the largest trains that they have ever built and produced."
The goal is to get new kids interested, so all children 12 and under are free to attend with an adult admission. Admission for 13 and over is $8 a piece, or two adults for $15. There will be vendors from across the country there for train enthusiasts to buy from, too. If you have a Lionel train, there is one vendor of particular interest this year, according to Mark Buckley with Toy Depot.
"A good friend of mine, Sgt. Schultz will be here," Buckley said. "He will be here with his parts. He does Lionel parts. He carries probably around 40,000 different pieces. If you have a Lionel train that needs some repair, he can do that, right there on the spot. It's something I can't do at the store, but he will be there for two days."
The local club has a regular clubhouse at 16 East 3rd in Hutchinson and is open on the 2nd and 4th Saturdays of the month from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and the third Thursday of the month from 5 p.m. until 8 p.m. For more information, go to kansascentralmodelrailroaders.com.
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