web1_TTL122219HomelessPersons_2.jpg

Memorial service recognizes area’s homeless population

web1_TTL122219Bikes4Tykes_1.jpg

Big smiles for ‘Bykes 4 Tykes’

<p>PLAINS TWP. &#8212; The Hudson Model Railroad Club provided area residents with an opportunity to enjoy model trains as they looked forward to the holiday season on Saturday.</p><p>The nonprofit organization on Martin Street, recently renovated with new carpeting and a fresh coat of paint, opens its doors each weekend from late November through December.</p><p>David Balko, secretary/treasurer of the club, said a trip to the club has become tradition for many area families.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s a good mix of everyone, on average about 125 people pass through a day,&#8221; he said.</p><p>Balko said the club has also added new scenes to the layout, many which quickly become favorites of those attending.</p><p>Liam McGrade, 3, Pittston, was delighted with a train car that carried tiny monkeys, lions and other animals.</p><p>&#8220;I think they are going to the circus,&#8221; he said.</p><p>Vikki McGrade, said that last year, her son got a train for Christmas and had become very interested in trains, so when she found out about the event on Facebook, she thought it would be a good way to spend some time on a holiday weekend.</p><p>McGrade said she appreciated the exhibit&#8217;s attention to detail and information provided.</p><p>&#8220;Every little town has a name,&#8221; she said.</p><p>Bill Wightman, 70, of Tunkhannock, has been a model train aficionado since he was 5 years old and his father bought him a Lionel train.</p><p>When he was 10, he asked for a model train for Christmas.</p><p>Instead, he got a box with a paper inside which read, &#8220;Go out to the garage.&#8221;</p><p>When he got there, there was a whole model train layout that his father and several neighbors had stayed up all night working on.</p><p>Even though Wightman was in his robe and pajamas, he stayed out in the garage running the train setup until his mother called him to come in for Christmas dinner.</p><p>Wightman now comes to the open house every year, often toting a binder with him filled with photos of his own layout in the basement of his home.</p><p>Every year since 1967, he&#8217;s had a model train layout in his home.</p><p>Even when he joined the Army in 1972 and was sent to Germany several years later, he had a layout on the his dining room table.</p><p>When asked if his roommates appreciated the use of the table, he said, smiling, &#8220;It was my wife and no she didn&#8217;t.&#8221;</p><p>Wightman said he appreciated Hudson Railroad Club&#8217;s attention to detail and the many different scenes.</p><p>&#8220;This setup has trains that are twice the scale of mine,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I switched to smaller trains at some point, because I just didn&#8217;t have enough room.&#8221;</p><p>Bill Kanton, of Nicholson, who works for the Norfolk Southern Railroad, brought his son Preston to open house.</p><p>Preston, 4, who was provided with a stool to see the setup, dragged the stool from scene to scene, amazed at his father pointed out the detail.</p><p>After Preston and his dad had made their way around the setup the first time, Preston had an idea.</p><p>&#8220;Let&#8217;s do it again,&#8221; he said.</p><p>The open house events will continue through December.</p><p>For more information, visit their Facebook page at <a href="https://www.facebook.com/hudsonmodelrailroadclub" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://www.facebook.com/hudsonmodelrailroadclub</a>.</p><style>
.neFileBlock {
	margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
	margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
	border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
	padding-bottom: 5px;
	padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
	font-size: 85%;
}
</style>
<div class='neFileBlock'>
<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/web1_IMG_7929.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">The Hudson Model Railroad Club in Plains Township is hosting an open house each weekend through the rest of December. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/web1_IMG_7929.jpg</photo0><caption0>The Hudson Model Railroad Club in Plains Township is hosting an open house each weekend through the rest of December. </caption0><photoCredit0>Geri Gibbons | For Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/web1_IMG_7937.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Liam McGrade waits for the next model train with his grandfather, John Whispell, at the Hudson Model Railroad Club display in Plains Township on Saturday. Liam&#8217;s mother, Vikki McGrade, is in the background. All are from Pittston. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/web1_IMG_7937.jpg</photo1><caption1>Liam McGrade waits for the next model train with his grandfather, John Whispell, at the Hudson Model Railroad Club display in Plains Township on Saturday. Liam&#8217;s mother, Vikki McGrade, is in the background. All are from Pittston. </caption1><photoCredit1>Geri Gibbons | For Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/web1_IMG_7942.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Colton Suprick, 4, foreground, and Preston Kanton, 3, watch a model train go by at the Hudson Model Railroad Club in Plains Township on Saturday. They were at the display with their dads, Mark Suprick and Bill Kanton, all of Nicholson.&#8203; </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/web1_IMG_7942.jpg</photo2><caption2>Colton Suprick, 4, foreground, and Preston Kanton, 3, watch a model train go by at the Hudson Model Railroad Club in Plains Township on Saturday. They were at the display with their dads, Mark Suprick and Bill Kanton, all of Nicholson.&#8203; </caption2><photoCredit2>Geri Gibbons | For Times Leader </photoCredit2></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Geri Gibbons</p><p>For Times Leader</p></bylineMeta></div>

Model train group hosts holiday open house