Hundreds of Villagers, their visiting children and grandchildren marveled at the multi-room display of model trains put on by the Villages Model Train Club.
The club has more than 150 members who started to erect their displays Wednesday morning for the Thursday morning show opening.
Three-year-old Ella Schilling was enthralled by the small N gauge train display shown by Villager Jim Pusateri.
As the little girl used a scale model crane to load a train car, her grandparents, Jim and Maureen Dedobbeleer of the Village of DeLa Vista, looked on.
Their daughter, Rachel Schilling is visiting from Dallas, Texas. Pusateri’s display consists of sets he created which portray various businesses his family members built over the years.
Villagers Bill and Claire Rahn of the Village of Gilchrist showed their grandchildren, 3-year-old Aidan Teichman and 5-year-old Gia Guidugli around the displays. The whistles, bells and horns enchanted the children every time they pushed a button.
Another favorite display of both young and old was erected out of Lego pieces by Village of Dunedin resident Jim Boncek. Even the tracks are made of Lego pieces and the trains are powered by rechargeable batteries.
One of the most elaborate train displays consists of a reproduction of the Wildwood train yards circa 1950s. Villager Walter Griffith said the club has worked on the Wildwood exhibit for several years using old photos and enlisting locals who knew the rail yard during that time.
The model train show will run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday and Saturday and from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday.