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December 17, 2004Festival of Trains on trackShow opens tomorrow at Heritage CenterByRecord-Eagle staff writer TRAVERSE CITY - Model trains of all sizes will run through city and country scenes and even by a model of a steel mill at the Grand Traverse Heritage Center through New Year's weekend. The Festival of Trains will feature the painstaking work of dozens of local hobbyists in a variety of elaborate scenes. "There's an assortment of towns and villages and people doing things they normally would do and trains running through it all," said Peter Magoun, owner of Trains & Things Hobbies, one of the show's sponsors. The event has been around for several years. Its second at the Heritage Center, it will feature five sizes of trains. The HO scale trains have been set up in scenes on modular platforms on adjustable legs. At least a dozen modules, built by various hobbyists, will be connected to each other to create one large scene. "They're built to a national modular standard," Magoun said. That means they can be connected with other modules from all over the country. The HO-gauge trains, a size that lends itself well to elaborate sets, will be in the lower level. Larger-scale trains, like O-gauge and the classic Lionel trains, will be on the first floor. "Those are the ones where the guys come out of the gate houses and there are moveable cattle cars," Magoun said. For the first time, the festival will also feature a model of a steel mill complex. While most of the displays will be operated by those who built them, including several members of the Northern Michigan RailRoad Club, there will be some hands-on exhibits for children, said Dan Truckey, executive director of the Heritage Center. Magoun said the people who participate in the show are devoted to trains as a hobby and want to share it with others. "It's a bunch of fun," he said. The festival runs from tomorrow through Sunday, Jan. 2. Hours are: - Sundays, noon-6 p.m. - Mondays through Thursdays, 10 a.m.-8 p.m. - Fridays (Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve), 10 a.m.-4 p.m. - Saturdays: Dec. 18, 10 a.m.-8 p.m.; Christmas Day, closed; New Year's Day, noon-8 p.m. Admission is $4 for adults, $3 for seniors, $2 for children age 6-12, free for children under 5. Family passes are available for $20. Proceeds from the show will benefit the heritage center.
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