For Mike Craig, being general manager of the St. Jacobs and Aberfoyle Model Railroad is both a dream job and the chance to continue his grandfather’s legacy.
The story of the model railway dates back to 1972. It is the dream of Frank Dubery, whose efforts opened the original Aberfoyle Model Railway in Puslinch.
In a telephone interview with the Wellington Advertiser Craig explained Dubery, “had this idea of building his dream model railway.”
Assisted by his wife Gay, Dubery began to design and build the railway, originally located at the Aberfoyle Flea Market. Shortly after, Chuck and Gwen Bard joined in.
“They were there from the beginning as well as they started to build it,” Craig said.
He added within a few years, Craig Webb and Wayne Pfieffer also joined the task to create what became known as Aberfoyle Junction.
The railway continued at the flea market location for about 10 years until 1982, when it moved up the road to a rented steel Quonset hut along old Highway 6.
That allowed the model railway to expand to its current size.
Craig said it was a massive undertaking, and organizers pride themselves on the details.
“Everything is pretty much scratch-built,” he said.
“All the track work is hand laid. All the wooden ties are hand-cut and hand-creosoted and laid and all the buildings are built from scratch.”
The same holds true for the steam engines, passenger cars and scenery.
As far as the amount of work involved, Craig chuckled and said, “It’s a huge thing because back then, pretty much nothing was manufactured so everyone had to build what they wanted to see.”
The railway is built to ‘O’ scale in which 1/4 inch equals one foot in real life, Craig explained. He then pointed out the HO scale is the common scale many people have at home or found around a Christmas tree.
“Our scale is basically double that size,” Craig said.
He explained the move to St. Jacobs was prompted by the landowner of the property it had rented near Aberfoyle.
When the land was put up for sale for redevelopment, the group rushed to find alternatives.
“For a while it just looked like the display might just end up in the garbage because there was nowhere we could move the display to, or it wasn’t the right building,” Craig recalled.
Then the group was put in touch with the Mercedes Group in St. Jacobs, which offered a couple of buildings to show.
“The first one we saw was pretty much perfect. They were very eager for us to move over there and we made the move,” he said.
Late last year the group held an official grand opening at the new location, a building off King Street in the centre of the free municipal parking lot on Albert Street East in St. Jacobs.
The current building is roughly 5,500 square feet in size, with the model railroad display room taking up about 3,200 square feet.
While the original railroad group included six members, Craig said today the operation is a registered charity with 55 volunteers.
“They help maintain the railway, run shows and everything involved with opening the display for the public,” said Craig.
While volunteers are generally from the immediate region, Craig noted there are a few from the Milton and Oakville area.
Over the years, Craig has gone from simply watching his grandfather’s model railway to becoming its general manager.
“It’s neat. For me it’s very personal. My grandfather was very passionate about this, and for me to be able to maintain it and keep his legacy alive is something that is very special to me,” said Craig.
“I have great memories growing up as a kid helping out and running the trains. It was kind of a dream for a kid … and now to be able to do this job and see so many new people enjoy this … it’s just a wonderful thing.”
When asked if children still react the same way to the model railway, Craig quickly answered, “Absolutely.”
At first, a model railway may seem like a hard sell, “But when you see a family with a young son or daughter, their reactions are the same. They’re enthralled. Everyone has the same reaction when they walk through the door and see the display.”
Craig explained, “What we’ve tried to do is depict southern Ontario from the late 1950s. It definitely has that look and feel.”
Certain local details stand out, such as aspects of the Niagara Escarpment.
“We have a lot of recognizable buildings from the area such as Canada Crushed Stone, which used to be in Dundas, a couple of Toronto train stations and roundhouses, and the Galt Post office from Cambridge.”
The railroad depicts both urban and rural locations.
As far as the overall size of the display, Craig doesn’t see it growing much further. He added there is still a lot of work left following the move to St. Jacobs.
“There are still certain details which need to be wired back up and made functional again,” he said, noting one of those items is a lift bridge in addition to a number of signals.
But moving the operation was a lot smoother than Craig anticipated.
He explained Chuck Bard, a retired master electrician, did all the planning.
“He planned this whole move so meticulously that it wasn’t too bad,” Craig said.
He explained that from start to finish – from cutting up the display in 51 sections for transport to reopening it to the public – the move took 14 months.
“We not only rebuilt the display and made it functional again, but also had to rebuild the interior of the building where it is now displayed,” he said. “When we moved in, it was just an empty shell.”
Bard had scale models of the display created to better plan how the sections could be transported via cube van to the new location.
“They were not just square pieces and it was a permanent display never meant to be moved.”
But the planning made all the difference and things went relatively smoothly.
Craig commented, “The one thing which is unique is that there is a night scene which runs once every 40 minutes where for three minutes our house lights slowly dim down and every single building, street light and passenger train lights up.
“It happens in a logical sequence so not everything turns on all at once.”
He explained for residences, the front porch light would turn on and later a light in the living room. Later, when those lights go off a bedroom light will go on.
“The … buildings have interior details,” he said of the display. “It’s a really magical thing to see.”
Later this year a book title The Junction will be released. It relays the story of the “original six” organizers and how the model railway came into being. It also chronicles the move to St. Jacobs, which was documented by a photographer, and the technical details behind the display and the move.
From May to December the model railway exhibit is open every weekend from 10am to 5pm. From January to April the display will be open on select show dates.
The admission cost is $8 for adults, $7 for seniors and $5 for children. The venue is free for children under the age of four. The building is handicap-accessible.
For more information visit http://stjacobsmodelrailway.com.
