Benefit train show returns for ninth year


By Modisane Kwanza
Free Press Staff Writer

'Tis the season for a yuletide hobby.

Part collectors expo and part fund-raiser, the Winooski Scholarship Train Show has drawn crowds of model railroad experts and novices for nine years.

The train show is one of the best in Vermont -- if not the best -- because of the time of year, said Ed Bianchi, who leads the railroad club at Charlotte Central School. "You can't beat the holidays," Bianchi said.

Event organizer John J. Malcovsky, a Winooski teacher, is expecting big things Saturday at the Winooski Middle/High School gymnasium where trains will run the tracks, dealers will appraise collectors' pieces, and students will provide refreshments.

The displays, or "operating layouts," allow train fans to share their ideas about what's possible in the hobby, Bianchi said.

The layouts use trains of various sizes. Vermont Garden Railways will have a G-gauge operating layout, Malcovsky said, and Northwest Model Railroad will probably have their N-gauge layout.

Tom Gallagher is expected to set up a model of the famous Lionel Disappearing Train layout. A long train of colored gondolas enters a tunnel, disappears and, after a pause, the engine reemerges from the other side pulling several gondolas, which seem to come from nowhere.

The fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-graders in Charlotte's model railroad club are planning a new layout for the show, which will be smaller and a little different from past ones.

The club likes to include something in their setup that will engage children, Bianchi said: buttons to push that operate the crossing gates, blow a whistle, or load barrels and logs.

The students will be on hand to explain their handiwork at the show. The diversity in ages is another thing that makes the Winooski show so appealing, Malcovsky said.

Proceeds from admissions and table rentals benefit the Winooski Dollars for Scholars program, for advanced schooling after high school. The food sales will benefit the junior class.

The show receives support from the school district, Winooski Press, Dollars for Scholars, and St. Michael's College. Students and teachers volunteer their time -- to help keep the show on track.

The show netted $3,000 last year, said Patricia Vincent, Winooski Dollars for Scholars co-chairwoman. "It's one of our biggest fund-raisers."
Contact Modisane Kwanza at 660-1833, or mkwanza@bfp.burlingtonfree- press.com