If you grew up in a house with a basement, Sedona Railroader member Jeff Dunn said you’re likely to have had a model train downstairs.
Since basements are less common around Sedona compared to Dunn’s native midwest, as are model trains, the Sedona Railroaders put on a model railroad show twice a year, which are free and open to the public.
“Unfortunately, there are many kids these days who are getting into railroads,” Dunn said.
But, the club likes to make sure the young people who are interested have a place to go see different types of models.
“I always enjoyed [seeing] the kids,” Railroader Guy Forsythe said. “The really young kids, especially their eyes, just light up, and that’s always fun. I have some kids that drag their parents there every day, or almost every day, and they would stay for hours if their parents who would let them.”
Every year, the club sets up two shows. The one at the end of July is one week, and another one in December, which will be two weeks. The summer event ends Saturday, July 25.
“We’ll have several layouts up,” Forsythe said. “We have O gauge, probably G gauge, an N gauge layout that’s fully C [track] — which is really nice — an F gauge loop and then I have an HO modular railroad that I bring in.”
The different gauges refer to the distance between the rails for each model, with the G gauge being the largest and the N gauge being the smallest.
Forsythe has been involved with the Sedona Railroaders since 2003, but his history with railroads begins much earlier than that.
“My story is kind of the same as everybody’s that I’m aware of,” Forsythe said. “And it’s just born into blood. I’ve always loved trains. I got a Lionel train at Christmas when I was 3. I don’t even remember getting it. I just remember always having it.”
Dunn said his journey started in 1947, when he was about the same age. He joined the Sedona club in 2002.
“I’ve got a model railroad at home that I work on,” Forsythe said. “And if I want to watch trains … that can be kind of tough.
But the internet’s available for that.”
The Railroaders put two shows like this on every year. Forsythe said the December show, which is generally bigger and lasts longer than the summer show, still needs a venue for this year’s show. It will announce once it secures a venue. Call Guy Forsythe at 928-282-2412 if interested in hosting or donating for the December show.
The Sedona Railroaders club meets monthly, every second Saturday, at 8 a.m. at Robbers Roost, located at 1160b S. Page Springs Road, in Cornville.
“We talk about real trains more than models,” Dunn said. Several members will talk about recent train rides they’ve taken or memorable rides they’ve had.
“If you don’t really want to be a member, just want to come to one breakfast and talk for ages, they’re always welcome to come,” Forsythe said.
