Colonial Heights attraction: Keystone Truck and Tractor Museum hosts mega train show

COLONIAL HEIGHTS — If you're a train enthusiast, you're in luck! Keystone Truck and Tractor Museum is the place to be this weekend. Over 8500 square feet of model trains will be on display during a mega train show produced by Richmond Freelance & Prototype "RF&P" Model Railroaders.

Dressed in his bib overalls, red bandana and engineer cap, Richmond Area Ntrak member Stan Sitzman said. "We bring our own trains, locomotives and rolling stock… whatever we want to run. I brought a bunch, but right now, I'm running RF&P [Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac]."

"We had around 1400 visitors last Saturday and Sunday during the 'Trains, Trucks & Tractors — Titans of Transportation' event," Dylan Simons, Keystone Truck and Tractor Museum assistant said. "There are only two more opportunities to see it: July 30 and 31."

Did you watch the decades-long television show "Sailor Bob" as a child? Griggs Valley Railroad built by the late "Sailor Bob" Griggs is one of two popular exhibits.

"This is the first public exhibit of "Sailor Bob's" model railroad display," Bill Dessent, RF&P Model Railroaders President said. "His son Tom Briggs donated it to our club."

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To welcome LEGO to our area, event planners rolled out a red carpet to Ian Hemingway’s RichBrick City Railroad constructed with his LEGO collection. Spectators flocked to the colorful exhibit.

Richmond Area Ntrak challenges visitors to solve the puzzle "Where did the train go?" at their Mystery Mountain exhibit. Train fans should also stop by Menardville created by River City 3 Railers which has a helicopter that launches in the air.

"We usually go and hunt down things to do at museums," Joyce Tibbs said. "My son Lazarus has a lot of trains."

Lazarus [age 7] opened his arms wide and said, "I want to take all of this home." He wasn't referring to just his favorite, the LEGO exhibit. He wanted everything in the show.

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"The train show was really amazing! So much detail and effort to make each scene look and feel authentic," Suzanne Spearman of Colonial Heights said. "I especially enjoyed the LEGO setup. Wow! Really cool!"

Four-year-old Joey Bomba shared with me loudly and proudly, "I like 'Thomas the Tank' the best. The young lover of trains could hardly contain his excitement and pointed out "Thomas's" friends "Gordon," "Percy" and "Diesel."

David Brown of Hopewell loved the model railroad show. He attended it with his three sons, twin four-year-olds and a one-year-old. Brown opted to visit the museum so his sons could learn the history of trucks, tractors and trains.

"My children loved it, too. They wanted to touch everything of course," Brown said. "I saw the ad for it and showed it to them. They were excited and wanted to go."

Richmond Area NRail and Virginia Piedmont & Central HO Model Railroaders also participated in the show.

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Keystone Truck and Tractor Museum

The museum encompasses more than 125,000 square feet. It’s cool, combustive and guarantees to take you on an exhilarating walk down memory lane.

"This is the most epic rest stop ever," Jean-Marc "JM" Gadoury with RF&P Model Railroaders said. "Forget about South of the Border. Who needs Pedro? Exit 53 in Colonial Heights has food, fuel and family fun that will be unforgettable for life."

Experience the last century of agricultural heritage incorporating fully restored antique farm tractors, ongoing restoration projects and other farm-related equipment.

Keystone offers visitors more than the farm with a time warp of antique road trucks, classic cars, a still, an old Gulf service station, vintage gas pumps, oil cans, toys, tools, bottle collections, automotive signage, clocks, advertising posters of yesteryear and much more.

Museum visitors can also take a photo with the unique "LOVE" sign out front. The “L” is made from steel engine parts; the “O” is a large tractor tire; the “V” is exhaust mufflers, and the “E” is created from oil barrels.

"We're big fans of the tractor museum," Chad Quella of King William said. "We look forward to seeing this special exhibit again."

The model train event is included with the price of museum admission: $10 adults, $9 seniors [62 and older], $5 active military and students [ages 6-17], and free for children five and under. Purchase tickets at the museum in the gift shop.

The museum is open seven days a week 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. The last admission is one hour before closing. Trust me … you will need more than an hour, especially if it’s your first visit. For more information, visit keystonetractorworks.com or call 804-524-0020.

The Keystone Truck and Tractor Museum with plenty of parking is conveniently located at 880 West Roslyn Road off I-95 across from Southpark Mall.

"We plan to return this Saturday and Sunday with a 'head of steam' on track for a historic climax to the Trains, Trucks & Tractors celebration," Gadoury said. "Next year, it will be even bigger, badder and better.

All ages will find the model railroad show entertaining. If you haven't been to the museum, you're in for a treat. It's enormous and filled with all kinds of interesting pieces of history. Read this story at progress-index.com to view my gallery with over 30 images.

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— Kristi K. Higgins aka The Social Butterfly columnist is the trending topics and food Q&A reporter at The Progress-Index. Have a news tip on local trends or businesses? Contact Kristi (she, her) at khiggins@progress-index.com, follow @KHiggins_PI on Twitter @socialbutterflykristi on Instagram.

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This article originally appeared on The Progress-Index: Colonial Heights attraction: Model trains on display, 8500 square feet