Charlestown's Elaborate Model RR Display is Open Year-Round to Public

CATONSVILLE, MD -- Charlestown retirement community’s 14-member Model Railroad Club oversees an elaborate train display featuring a few hundred feet of track that wind HO-scale model trains through a miniature 1950s-era town.

Authentic-looking storefronts, farms, local landmarks, and sound effects like crickets and thunder add to the town’s realistic look and feel.

This display is open year-round to the public on Saturdays, from noon - 2 p.m., at the Charlestown campus, 715 Maiden Choice Lane.

The club has a large inventory of nearly 250 rolling stock—engines and cars—that operate on two main tracks, as well as a separate streetcar line that runs independently.

The trains are operated by handheld remote controls that run on Digital Command Control (DCC), which allows locomotives on the same electrical section of track to be independently controlled.

“We clean the tracks and engines and oil the engines to keep them in good running order. We usually only run two trains at a time, otherwise they are difficult to control and you run the risk of derailing or crashing them,” says Roberta Poulton, who heads the club.

“We have grandkids, great-grandkids, and school groups come in,” says Roberta. “We have a scavenger hunt where the kids can search for specific things like our Ravens car or ladies hanging up the wash on the clothesline. We’ve had some kids that will just stand there and watch the trains go around for the entire two hours we are open. They really love it.”

Call 410-737-8324 for more information about the model railroad display.

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Caption for Photo: Engineer Gary Papritz guides trains through Main Street locale (photo by Mel Tansill).

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