The Hamilton and Ancaster Model Train Show rolled into the Ancaster Fair Grounds on the morning of Nov. 13 and continued well into the afternoon before packing up for the day. Rick Kuta organized the event, which featured 150 vendor tables, as well as a working model railway layout (a diorama containing a scale track for operating model trains).
Upon arriving in Marritt Hall, guests could look through items in the hallway before entering the Michael Emick room to find the majority of the vendors.
For many hobbyists, this was a chance to meet new people, sell their wares, and find supplies for their own custom layouts or restoration projects.
“My passion doesn’t come with selling them,” vendor Warren Muzak said. “It’s more about getting junkers and repairing them, bringing them back to life and actually running them on layouts while hanging around with my uncle.”
With the hobby always changing, in-person events like this one allowed attendees to find pieces that can’t be found in retail stores.
“If there’s something you haven’t been able to find in a couple of years, there’s a good chance of finding it here because the hobby has changed,” Kuta said. “You can’t go to the hobby shop and say ‘I want this particular piece.’ They don’t have it anymore because a lot of companies are only doing 500 pieces and that’s it.”
While the model trains appeared to be the main attraction, they weren’t the only piece of the puzzle for a realistic layout. Several vendors showed up to sell a variety of miniature scaled pieces.
“We have plastic patterned sheets that represent brick stone siding and we have trees and hedge materials,” Model Builder Supply’s Wendy Hamilton said. “We have anything you need: people, cars, and animals. Whatever you need to make a model layout, we have it and we manufacture most of it.”
Those who enjoy collecting memorabilia could find vintage train lanterns, playing cards, train tickets and schedules, books, magazines and 35mm Kodak slides.
If you missed the event, another will be held in June on Father’s Day. Admission is $5 and free for those under 12.
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