The Kanawha Valley Railroad Association’s 17th annual Model Train and Craft Show is on track to roll into the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center on Saturday, March 11, and Sunday, March 12.
Show organizers are hopeful weather won’t derail — or at least discourage — the festivities the way it did last year.
“This will be our second year at the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center,” KVRA spokesman, treasurer and veteran club member Richard Boyd, of Mink Shoals, said last week. “Last year, it snowed seven inches the night before we opened.”
Boyd said show-goers will be able to browse through — and marvel at — approximately 175 tables of model railroad displays and related and craft items for sale at the upcoming show.
“We’ll also have five operating train layouts,” he added.
Show hours will be 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday (March 11) and 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. on Sunday (March 12).
Admission each day will be $5, with children 12 and younger admitted free.
For more information about the model train and craft show, contact Joe Horter at 304-539-6721 or jhorter@gmail, Richard Boyd at 615-319-9654 or email kvrailroad@gmail.com.
The Kanawha Valley Railroad Association was formed in 1977. “We have around 30 members at present,” Boyd said, “ranging in age from 12 years old to 80 years old, from all around the surrounding area. There’s no entrance exam or anything. You don’t have to be a skilled modeler. We have people like myself — our favorite part is the actual construction. We have people who simply like to run trains and some that are mainly collectors and those who just like all things railroad who like to come and hang out.
“It runs the gamut. Our junior members are 12 and up. We have a few members who’ve practically grown up in the club. I talked to a guy last week who just turned 27; when I met him at the club, he couldn’t even drive yet. Now he’s graduated, grown up, married, and, unfortunately, divorced, but he’s still a loyal, faithful member of the club.”
Boyd said the club is especially welcoming of younger railroad enthusiasts to its ranks. “We figure that’s the future of the hobby and the club. We have a saying that when they get to the age of 16 or so, they get caught up with the “G”’s — girls and gasoline. They might disappear for a while and come back a little bit later after they get that out of their system,” he said.
For 25 years, the railroad buffs have maintained a clubhouse/model train showcase on the Coonskin Park grounds in Charleston. Members and guests meet there every Sunday from 1 until 4 p.m. (excluding holidays), Boyd said, as well as hosting open houses around the holiday season and other times throughout the year. Admission to visit is free, but donations are always appreciated.
He said the clubhouse may have to relocate from its longtime “depot” at 1750 Coonskin Drive at some point, however. “If the [Yeager] airport’s runway extension goes through, we will be out of there,” he explained. “At present, the park has no plans for relocating us somewhere else, so we would be looking for a new headquarters.”
More information about the nonprofit Kanawha Valley Railroad Association, including how to become a member and event schedules, can be found at www.kvrailroad.org or on the group’s Facebook page (@kvrailroad).
