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12/13/2011 http://pine-richland.patch.com/articles/holiday-model-train-show-capturespittsburgh-area...

Volunteers in the News, Arts, Holiday Guide 2011 Holiday Model Train Show Captures Pittsburgh Area's Railroad History
Show at Western Pennsylvania Model Railroad Museum in Gibsonia highlights the glory of the 1952 railroad system in Pittsburgh area. By Kristy Snyder Email the author December 10, 2011 Email Print 1 Comment Related Topics: Gibsonia, Holiday Guide 2011, Holiday Model Train Show, Holiday Show 2011, Trains, and western Pennsylvania model railroad museum Do train displays rank among your favorite holiday traditions? What other ways do you get in the wintry spirit? Tell us in the comments. Fifty years ago, people in the city of Pittsburgh would have seen trains ambling over bridges, following railroad tracks along rivers to take passengers and goods to their destinations. Those halcyon days might have been forgotten, had it not been for the Western Pennsylvania Model Railroad Museum. The museum has been in existence since 1938 when it was founded in Downtown Pittsburgh. It moved from place to place with no real home until 1986, when organizers built its current headquarters at 5507 Lakeside Drive in Gibsonia. The museum hosts a holiday show every winter to highlight its model layout of the massive Mon-Valley system that ran from Pittsburgh to Cumberland, MD back in 1952. This year marks the 24th holiday show for the museum, where members work on the different aspects of the trains and scenery all year long. Thats 24 years of work, museum President Ray Mueser said of the detailed display. Theres not someone here eight hours a day working on it. Its just whenever somebody has time to come out, then we come out and work on it. "Theres always something new every year that we work on, and it expands every year. The display is breathtaking at first glance, with its painstaking likeness to the original landscape. The volunteers conjure a near-exact replica by painting murals in the background, constructing every tree on their own, and even using twisty ties from Giant Eagle to sprout miniature cornfields. Mueser said they work hard to ensure everything is built exactly to scale. We went down and took pictures of the old buildings that we were going to use, Mueser said. We went to historical societies' museums to get pictures. Then we bring them back here, and we shrink them down to HO scale and build them ourselves. "Whatever you are seeing, this is what it looked like in 1952. Instead of relying on steam power like the old engines, the system is entirely operated by a command computer. While this is more a efficient system than relying on the old wiring, the trains still have wreck just like the real railroad, Mueser joked. The November-to-January show averages about 10,000 visitors, many of whom are families and children. Home News Events Places Traffic & Gas Gallery Elections 2011 Holiday Guide Editor Cindy Cusic Micco: Heard some news you want us to check out? Let me know: cindy.micco@patch.com

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2 of 3 Weve driven past them a million times, [but] never knew they were here, said visitor Aronna Wesche. She visited the museum recently with her husband and son, who are fans of model trains. Were getting ideas for our Christmas display," she said. "Its very child-friendly. Being child-friendly is one of the things Mueser takes pride in. The museum's entire first floor is an interactive play zone, where children can press a button to watch Thomas the Tank Engine race around the track. We have children going out of here [happy], which we call our satisfied customers, he said. Theyre going out of here kicking and screaming I dont want to leave. This overall atmosphere is what attracted many of the current volunteers to become members of the organization. I came out here eight years ago as a visitor, and these guys looked like they were having too much fun, said John Emph, the groups treasurer. Ive been into trains all my life. Its a great hobby. The whole organization has a history to it, said Dan Devic, who has been involved with the museum for 17 years. Things are always changing for the better, which is something you dont see in a lot of todays society. We keep the pilot lit under this thing and keep it going. The museum offers its time-machine glimpse into the past every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday except for Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year's Day until Jan. 22. It is open from 6 to 9 p.m. on Fridays, and from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the weekend. The requested donation for the Holiday Train Show is $6 for adults and $4 for children under 12. Email me updates about this story. Keep me posted Email Print Follow comments Submit tip 1 Comment Brian O'Malley 10:39 am on Saturday, December 10, 2011 This is a great museum here in Richland Township. Glad we can share this with our friends and family when they are in town around the holidays! Leave a comment Submit Close READ MORE IN VOLUNTEERS IN THE NEWS Frances Could Be the Cat for You

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