6 model train displays to visit this holiday season in Lancaster County
This post has been updated to correct the hours of the Masonic Village & Elizabethtown Model Railroad Club train display on Dec. 8.
All aboard!
The holiday season brings delights of many kinds: hot cocoa, trimmed trees and, in Lancaster County, impressive festive locomotive displays.
If seeing a train display is an essential part of your holiday season, here are a few local options.
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The Columbia Historic Preservation Society will host its 11th annual Edward King Model Train Open House on Saturdays and Sundays Nov. 30 through Jan. 5. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $5 per person and kids under 12 are free. The society is at 21 N. 2nd St., Columbia.
Elizabethtown's The Train Guys will host their annual model train display at Elizabethtown Public Library, 10 S. Market St., beginning at 6-8 p.m. Dec. 3. The display will remain open in December from 6-8 p.m. Thursday evenings and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays. It will also be open from 6-8 p.m. Dec. 13 in conjunction with Elizabethtown's Second Friday activities. During the first three Saturdays, a free shuttle will operate between this train display and the Masonic Village train display. (See below for more information on that display.)
Expect to see up to 20 trains running at once, with some trains as old as 100 years on display. Visitors can also use 50 push buttons to run trains and accessories.
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Admission is by donation to the library. See photos from last year's display below.
The Masonic Village & Elizabethtown Model Railroad Club will host open houses from 10-4 p.m. Dec. 7, 14 and 21, and from 2-4 p.m. on Dec. 8. The club, which has a history dating back to 1997, shows seven scales of model trains. The Model Railroad Club building is along Freemason Drive in Masonic Village, 1 Masonic Drive, Elizabethtown. On Dec. 7, 14 and 21, a shuttle will operate between the Masonic Village display and The Train Guys' display. Admission is free and donations are appreciated.
Willow Street resident Al Strausner is once again part of organizing train displays to benefit the Solanco Neighborhood Ministries Food Bank and the Conestoga Area Food Bank. Admission is by donation in the form of cash or nonperishable food items.
The effort includes two displays at two different locations, which will both be open from 1-4 p.m. Dec. 7-8, 14-15, 21-22 and 28-29.
Chris and Justin Trout will have a display at their home, 1729 Hans Herr Drive in Willow Street, featuring three layouts. They will also have a collections of Christmas department story window displays available to view. Parking is available in their driveway or on their lawn.
Strausner, along with his grandson Matthew Palmeri and Ben Stiles, will have a display set up at West Willow United Methodist Church, 118 West Willow Road in Willow Street. Parking is available at the church. Those who need a handicap accessible entrance should call 717-917-6922 upon arrival.
See pictures from last year's display below. (Story continues after slideshow.)
The Keystone Chapter of the European Train Enthusiasts will host an Open House and train display at the Science Press Building, 211 Terrace Ave., Ephrata, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Dec. 7 and noon to 4 p.m. Dec. 8. The club will have a large, European-themed model railroad layout in operation. Admission is free, but donations are accepted. Park in the lot next to the building, look for signs at the entrance.
