Kennesaw museum conducts annual 'family model train extravaganza'

Jan. 28—KENNESAW — Dozens of trains ran simultaneously at full speed in downtown Kennesaw on Saturday.

No crashes resulted because of careful planning — with each train running on a closed loop.

The Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History in downtown Kennesaw held its annual "Trains, Trains, Trains!" event over the weekend.

The event began in 2010 when the museum's executive director, Richard Banz, had the idea for the event after taking his niece to a train show.

"I spent the entire experience going from table to table telling her not to touch anything," Banz said. "And I thought, wouldn't it be nice to have an event that was just for people to enjoy the trains?"

The event featured 10 model train layouts built by local hobbyists. Three of the layouts were interactive, allowing visitors to control the trains. The model trains on display ranged from the extremely small "z gauge" trains to huge, one-sixth-scale models. The Smithsonian-affiliated museum also houses three real locomotives as part of its permanent collection, including the famed General.

The price of admission included access to the whole museum in addition to the model trains, which were interspersed throughout the exhibits. Banz said family educational experiences are important for children, and the event is ultimately about sharing the joy of trains.

"It really creates lasting memories. And, at the end of the line — excuse the train pun — that's what we'll remember, our memories with our families and our friends," Banz said.

Banz, who has been a model train hobbyist since he got his first train set as a child, said Kennesaw's model train event is the only one he knows of designed with families and children in mind.

Greg Cloer, a 59-year-old hobbyist, echoed Banz's feeling that model train shows are usually geared towards adults.

"I think we're starting to lose interest with the younger generations," Cloer said.

Cloer, who lives in Marietta, attended the event as part of the North Atlanta O-Gauge Railroad Club. He said the club often sets up interactive model train layouts at shows to get children involved in the hobby.

Cloer built model trains as a child, stopped in his teens, and then picked up the hobby again after having children of his own. He began building larger O-gauge trains after setting up a Polar Express model one Christmas.

"I just fell in love with O-gauge trains after that. There's something magical about them," Cloer said.

Some of the model trains running during the event were extremely detailed replicas of real trains, while others were more toy-like and fantastical like versions of "Thomas the Tank Engine" and the Hogwarts Express from the "Harry Potter" movies.

Children at the event Saturday flocked to the interactive exhibits and the large Lego layouts, which had a nearby Lego building station.

Last year, about 2,700 people came to the two-day event. Banz said between 4,000 and 5,000 typically visited prior to the pandemic.

Finn Huelsbeck, an elementary school student from Smyrna, first visited the model train event when he was 3 years old and said it was "awesome" to be back. He also described the trains as "pretty awesome," before turning his attention back to the tracks.

Like Cloer and others at the event, Finn's father, Huey Huelsbeck, built model trains in childhood and is now returning to the hobby as a parent with an expanding annual Christmas layout.

Megan Huelsbeck, the boy's mother, said when they brought Finn to the event this year, they weren't sure if he would still be interested in trains like he was three years before. Watching him smile at the controls, she said the fascination seems to have stuck.