Polar Express coming to model railroad show in Parkersburg
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PARKERSBURG -- The Polar Express will chug its way into town as the featured attraction at the Mid-Ohio Valley Model Railroad Club's annual Christmas Open House from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday in the basement of NOE Office Equipment, 610 Green St., Parkersburg.
The open house will be part of Downtown PKB's Winterfest celebration.
The steam passenger train from the popular 2004 animated Christmas movie of the same name will appear in two different formats.
An O-scale version of the Polar Express will be operated on one of the club's layouts by Jimmie Bee, club board of directors chairman and owner of Bee Line Hobbies in Belpre. Bee modified the club's logging layout to incorporate Polar Express accessories.
Also, the first 100 children under age 12 to come through the door will receive an oversized commemorative Polar Express ticket similar to that in the classic Christmas movie that starred Tom Hanks. The golden ticket keepsakes were obtained by Jonathan Insley, club president and owner of Insley Plumbing in Marietta.
Club members will conduct a drawing for a prized and collectible Lionel Polar Express O-scale train set. A Polar Express puzzle will serve as a second drawing prize.
"The Polar Express" movie was adapted from the 1985 book by Chris Van Allsburg. Lionel Trains has been marketing Polar Express trains and accessories for many years and its sales are second only to Thomas the Tank in Lionel's expansive line of licensed products.
In addition to "The Polar Express," the Christmas tradition of an electric train running around the family Christmas tree will be celebrated at the family-oriented open house. Club members will have miniature electric trains operating on seven detailed layouts in HO, N, O, G and Z scales.
The club operates one of the largest HO-scale layouts in West Virginia and is among the top O-scale layouts with much modern technology. A top-notch G-scale layout, much of which was crafted from natural materials and a detailed N-scale layout with Parkersburg landmarks will be modeled.
Bee recently completed a major upgrade on the N-scale layout, adding a large snowy mountain reminiscent of Austria or Switzerland. He also added an autumnal area allowing the layout to show all four seasons.
Scenery upgrades also have been made to nearly every section of the layout.
The model railroad club opens its doors to the public four times a year, and the Christmas Open House is the largest in attendance.
The club's facility also will be open to the public Dec. 10 during a visit by Belpre Industrial Parkersburg Railroad's Christmas Train. A diesel locomotive decked in Christmas decor will be on hand for visitors to see from 7-8:30 p.m. on the tracks at Sixth and Green streets near the crossing.
Santa and Mrs. Claus are expected to make an appearance. The model railroad club will be open to visitors with a second open house from 3-7 p.m. that same day.
The Mid-Ohio Valley Model Railroad Club was founded in 1981 and has 65 members. Membership is open to anyone with an interest in model railroading.
For more information, go to movmrc.org. The club is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and displays, in addition to vintage model trains, a large collection of railroad photographs and artifacts.