Lakeport >> Step back in time with a visit to one of the Lake County Fair”s best kept secrets as you follow the trains at the Lake County Model Railroad Club”s (LCMRRC) annual open house, which takes place during the fair that runs through Sunday.
Tucked away in the Old Armory building, located near the rear of the fairgrounds, is the club”s miniature empire designed to look as California did in the 1950s and ”60s.
“The railroads played a tremendous role in the building of our great state,” LCMRRC vice president Bill Cossey said. “We”ve tried to capture the more significant bits and pieces of what those railroads did in miniature.”
Club members have painstakingly recreated little vignettes of the state”s historic industries and agriculture as they would have appeared during the waning days of the steam locomotive and the great passenger trains of the 1950s.
The railroads played a key role in settling the West, they moved more than 90 percent of the men and materials during the world wars and they were the principal means of mass transportation throughout the state prior to the interstate highway system and jet travel.
“We”d like to think our hobby not only is providing recreation for our club members, but also serving as a fun history lesson for our gusts,” Cossey said.
Formed nearly 34 years ago by three men who wanted to share their interest in model railroading with others, it has grown from the small portable tables that were moved from one meeting place to another, to a permanent 20-by-50-foot display layout at the Lake County Fairgrounds.
Considered a 100 percent club by the National Model Railroad Association, the LCMRRC meets every Tuesday from noon to 6 p.m. Visitors are welcome.
For information, call Fromer at 228-8780.
