Hobbyists create small small-town America

What do Tombstone, a Pennsylvania farm and a mill with Barney Fife have in common?

They all can be seen at the Southgate Mall Friday and Saturday when the Yuma Model Railroaders bring their modular display to the old RadioShack location.

Mall visitors can also expect to see scenes of small-town America, a harbor and a mountain tunnel, as well as a steam locomotive, a modern intermodal train and Thomas the Tank Engine.

"A lot of people are just appreciative of the work that goes into them," Lee Stoermer, club president, said. "Kids always get a trip out of it because there is motion to it."

The display is expected to have about 12 modules at the mall event that begins Friday at 5 p.m. and runs all day Saturday.

During its three-year history, the club has displayed their modular railroad at the Yuma County Fair, the Yuma Doll and Toy Show, nursing homes and other local places. The size of the display and the scenes in it vary at each event because each 2-foot-by-4-foot modular unit, with the exception of the corner pieces, is interchangeable and does not rely on a specific module for the display to run, Stoermer said. Since the railroad doesn't rely on on specific sections, the size is determined by how many club members can participate in the event.

"The trains are a timeless attraction," Myke Bruessel, club vice president, said. "I think we serve a purpose with the modular setup. It reawakens interest."

According to Stoermer, the club has gained nine new members in the past two years by displaying the modular display around Yuma. The club has also received significant interest by other people who are not considered full members but participate from time to time. He currently has about 35 people on his e-mail list that are not fully active, but still want to be involved.

Stoermer, who works as a fire captain and paramedic with the Yuma Fire Department, said the group has people from all walks of life and of all ages involved in model railroading, from winter visitors to professionals and people from ages 14 to 82. The group even has an unofficial female member who is very active in the group and is the wife of a club member.

"The one thing about our group... everyone gets along with every everybody fairly well," he said. "We've got all different kinds of people. There's a lot of different personalities."

The group's traveling display has about 16 separate modules in total and is an HO, or a 1:87 scale, railroad. However, not every member of the group participates in building the portable modulars, Stoermer said. There are members that have home layouts and build different scale model railroads that range in size from outdoor railroads to very tiny indoor setups that can fit in a briefcase. Additionally, some members are only model train collectors who do not build anything and still others participate in railfanning, which is where they go out and watch working trains in action.

"It's a lot of camaraderie and a lot of friendships being built," Stoermer said. "It is a fun hobby that keeps your mind active."

Skills involved in model railroading include carpentry and basic electrical and artistic skills. However, if you do not have those skills, people in the club have different expertise and can help a beginner out, he said. By the time a beginner finishes their first project they will have all the skills they need.

The club displays the railroad and trains publicly around Yuma as a way of promoting the hobby and showing others what they've been able to make, Stoermer said. He hopes to bring the railroad to the hospital pediatric ward and various retirement communities in the future, in addition to the already established events they currently participate in.

For anyone interested in model railroading, Stoermer encourages them to stop by the Southgate Mall during the weekend display and sign up for more information, visit the club Web site at www.geocities.com/yumamodelrailroaders or e-mail them at yumamodelrailroaders@yahoo.com.