Past president Mario Leone and founding member Bill Pless welcomed visitors to the Burlington County Model Railroad Club open house on Feb. 14, at the group’s home in the basement of the Burlington County Footlighters Theatre in Cinnaminson.
As a youngster growing up in Riverton, Mario Leone remembers always having a train set in the house, and his love for model trains has continued throughout his life.
“I remember the freight trains coming through town at all times of the day and night in the 1960s,” recalled Leone, who lived a half block away from the railroad tracks on the 600 block of Thomas Avenue. “Steam engines are my favorite. The first trains in the 1830s all had steam engines, and that continued halfway through the 20th century.”
Leone is a 1972 graduate of Palmyra High School who attended the Drexel Wireless and Technical Institute and became an electrical engineer. On Feb. 14, he and fellow members of the Burlington County Model Railroad Club greeted guests at their winter open house, with its permanent displays of model trains moving through towns and villages.
“I do all the wiring,” noted Leone, past president of the club that meets in the basement of its permanent home, the Burlington County Footlighters Theatre in Cinnaminson. “We have 26 members and everyone contributes to the displays.”
The club was started 45 years ago at Tracks and Trains in the borough and moved to its present location at 808 Pomona Road in 1984, when the building was owned by the Cinnaminson school district.
“We have permanent displays year round,” stated Leone, adding that open houses are held every year on seven weekends during the winter. The final one this year was held on Feb. 21 and 22.
“We have introduced a lot of people to the hobby,” offered Leone, noting that grandparents bring their grandchildren. “We have added new scenery with local names. We usually get 50 to 60 people at each open house.”
Attendees walk through aisles surrounded by the many displays, often with club members acting as guides.
“On our layout we do not attempt to model any specific real-life scenes,” Leone pointed out, “but rather typical railroad tracks and places, adapting them to fit the space we have available.”
“We call our miniature railroad the Rancocas Valley Lines, which is appropriate for the local area,” states the club’s website. “The original idea for this layout was to represent portions of a railroad that goes from tidewater to mountains, running through the typical station and industrial area of a large city, then countryside, while serving those industries that would use rail shipments.”
Leone said the club’s rail cars and locomotives are actually owned by members, while the bench work, scenery and tracks belong to the club. The club has continued to add to its permanent displays over the years.
In the small control room, Leone and other volunteers working on computers keep everything moving in the display area. It gets quite busy, with four trains running continuously on the main lines and trains sent into sidings or yards at regular intervals.
There’s a dispatcher and four operators for the main lines; two other operators control the coal dumper and freight yard.
Many members of the Burlington County Model Railroad Club visit real railroad sites, including the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania in Strasburg; the Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton, Pennsylvania; and the Lehigh Gorge Scenic Railway in Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania, where visitors can ride on a train through the hills along the Lehigh River.
For information or to become a member of the club, call (856) 733-0010.
