AUBURN — Watching the faces of young children walking into the cafeteria of the Auburn Middle School on Saturday was priceless, their eyes wide with excitement and wonder.

But it was the hearty smiles of many of the older members of the Great Falls Model Railroad Club that warmed the room. Many, like Ed Webb of Augusta, were thinking back to the days when they first fell in love with model trains.

“When I was a kid, growing up near Lewiston, I could remember stopping at railroad tracks and watching trains go past. I can vaguely remember the Grand Trunk Station. I can see the same look in the eyes of some of the kids watching the trains go around the tracks here and remember me being so excited when we had to stop to let a train go past when driving someplace.

“I remember going to the hobby shop on Main Street in Lewiston when I was a kid. We would buy slot cars and trains, everyone did. I got so excited when I walked in there, just like the kids when they walk in this place,” he said. 

A very detailed oriented person, Webb spends hours on the setup at his small apartment.

“I am working on a module of the old Grand Trunk freight yard.  It is presently in my living room. It will soon be part of the setup I have that goes from my living room into my bedroom and back, then out through the kitchen.”

A module is a portable section of a table type structure, which is part of a large group of similar tables which when assembled form a large and fully operating model railroad. All are built to a set of standards that allow each unit to interface exactly with other units anywhere in the overall system. Some of the modules were taken from the clubhouse on Mill Street in Auburn, others were from members’ houses.  

Webb is one of the many model railroad enthusiasts that makeup the Great Falls Model Railroad Club. Members range in age from elementary school age to retirees.

The club offers an eight-week adult education course in model railroading at Edward Little High School in Auburn. This month, the club is having several work sessions open to visitors Wednesdays from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to noon.

The show at the Auburn Middle School is the biggest attraction every year.  Most every member turns out, helping set up the elaborate modules in the cafeteria.

“It only takes about an hour or so to set up, and a half hour to take down. We have done it so many times, it goes pretty smooth,” said club board member Jay Calnan.  

While most of the somewhat fragile setups are for viewing only, there is a carpet in the middle of the floor with chairs around it for children to play with more than a dozen wooden, plastic and metal train sets.

Across the hall, the gym was filled with everything from new and old train sets to miniature dogs, cats, horses, pigs and every other animal imaginable to use in displays. With a variety of accessories to use in a module, it was like Christmas morning to any train enthusiast. Games, trinkets and toys were also on sale.

However, it was not all fun and games for everyone when it was time to leave. Many parents had a hard time pulling their child away from the show. The sound of trains was often punctuated by wailing children as they were taken away crying and screaming for more.

“Just goes to show how popular we are,” said board member Jay Calnan to another member as a mother, with a big smile on her face, walked away with a crying child.

They will get another chance later this month as the club opens its doors for its annual ExTRAINaganza the weekend of Nov. 17. For more information, visit the club’s website at: greatfallsmodelrrclub.org.