TUCSON, Ariz. — The Gadsden-Pacific Division Toy Train Operating Museum has been dedicated to sharing model trains with the public for more than 20 years.
The museum opened in 1988 at Foothills Mall. Ten years later it moved to its current home, just east of Interstate 10.
Displays in the 6,000-square-foot museum include several layouts that feature model trains and scenery of different scales.
Step stools are available for visitors who need a boost to get a better view of the trains.
Museum members, which number more than 100, often run their own model trains on the layouts' tracks when the museum is open.
"We're trying to get new people interested in the hobby," said Ivan English, the museum's treasurer. "Most of us old guys grew up with toy trains. We didn't have Xbox or electronics. Our dads bought us trains."
English, a retired engineering manager who worked for Hughes Aircraft, said he grew out of model trains as a teenager when his interests turned to girls and cars, but he returned to the hobby as he got older.
"When you're retired, you're looking for something to do, and this is fun," the 76-year-old said.
Member Bob Benzinger enjoys watching wide-eyed children marvel at the toy trains.
"The kids love it," he said.
The grown-ups can't get enough, either.
"On the one hand, we're indulging our hobby. On the other hand, we're providing a public service," said Benzinger, a retired foreign service officer.
Model trains at the museum zip past scenery that includes amusement park rides, train stations, a copper mine and even the town of Tombstone.
The scenery changes periodically and push buttons on the layouts add an interactive element.
With the touch of a button, visitors can make trains whistle, power windmills, light up crossing signals and make Thomas the Tank Engine go round and round a circular track.
Static displays at the museum include model trains from decades past and other railroad memorabilia.
Antique toys, such as A.C. Gilbert erector sets, also are scattered around the museum.
The museum is dedicated to toy trains, but a full-size caboose is part of the collection. The Rio Grande steel-sided caboose was donated to the museum in 2005. Now it sits on rails on museum grounds.
Members of the museum also are in the process of adding a large-scale railroad track to the property.
"If we can afford insurance, we will let people ride it," English said.
Donations, membership dues, special events and sales from the museum gift shop keep the toy train museum open for kids such as Nathan Perkins.
Nathan, 10, visited the museum on Sunday with his grandmother, Patti Wagner.
"It's really cool," Nathan said. "It's really interesting. They have more than trains. They have accessories for kids to play with."
Information from: Arizona Daily Star, http://www.azstarnet.com