HO scale model trains are a significant part of model railroading history, and we can partially credit the overall popularity of model trains with the rise of a convenient, tabletop scale like HO.

Interest in model trains has varied over decades, even during Christmas. Since the 1950s, television, slot cars, plastic models and other diversions have diluted the attraction of model trains.

Dennis Lakomy has been collecting and running model trains since his dad gave him his first model train set in 1962. They are on display in his home near Port Huron and include an operating layout.

An HO scale model of Union Pacific Challenger-type steam locomotive 3985 passes farm fields during open house at the Lake County Model Railroad Club on Saturday, March 29, 2025 in Wauconda. Joe ...

Four years after Dr. Kinney’s death at the age of 76, and nearly 30 years since Dr. Kinney had set them up last, Brenda decided the trains needed a new home. That’s when Travis Washburn got a call. A ...

The trains went into storage since Erhardt was no longer able to devote time to the hobby. “At that point I had two engines, quite a few cars and a lot of track,” Erhardt said.

The McKeesport Model Railroad Club is a holiday tradition, with 2,200 square feet of displays to explore. Many people who visited as kids now bring their grandchildren.

'The train they had as a kid' Today, working out of their new 5,000-square-foot facility in Eatontown (which they relocated to this October from their previous 3,200-square-foot shop in Tinton ...