24th annual Train Show rolls into Essex

by Sylene Argent

The Essex Train Show is still strong and running on full steam after 24 years.

  Over the weekend, hundred of area families, in addition to out-of-town-visitors, enjoyed the 2019 Essex Train Show, which was hosted at Essex Public School.

  The annual show, boasted as being the largest in Southwestern Ontario, offers an opportunity for area model train enthusiasts to get together and celebrate the hobby of their choosing, and a way for grandparents to teach their grandchildren about railroad history.

  The Essex Heritage Committee hosts this annual event as a major fundraiser for the historic Essex Railway Station.

  Bill Gay of Heritage Essex was pleased with the number of individuals who attended the show on Saturday, and was sure Sunday’s edition of the event would be equally well attended.

  Thirty-four vendors lined the halls of Essex Public School, selling an array of items, from storage containers, to books, and, of course, model train parts and pieces.

  Inside the school’s gymnasium, the bells and whistles of the several displays setup for the event were heard as model trains chugged along their miniature rail-lines, which were enhanced with little houses, trees, and farms.  

  One of the exhibitors at the Essex Train Show was the Windsor Model Railroad Club. Member Jim Pluck said his group attends the show every year to support the Essex Railway Station.

  The Windsor Model Railroad Club has around 40 members, who meet every Tuesday, and sometimes on Saturdays, too. The group’s members are currently building a permanent model railway display at its space, located in the Windsor Market Square, at Ottawa Street and Walker Road.

 The Windsor Model Railroad Club is hosting an open house on March 16. Those interested in learning more about the club, can log onto www.windsormodelrailroadclub.com

  Gay attributes the success of the annual Essex Train Show to the fact that it takes individuals back to the days of their youth, where they were able to watch trains roll into their town to pick-up passengers or cargo.