Enthusiasts celebrate local history, crafts at rail show

BARSTOW — Teddy Wax watched a Union Pacific locomotive chug along the curve of a miniature track on Saturday at the Harvey House and had only one thing to say.

“Cool,” the 9-year old said, while grinning and pointing out the model railroad to his younger brother.

Wax and several hundred other railroad and craft enthusiasts crowded the rooms of the Harvey House for the annual rail and craft festival, sponsored by the Western America Railroad Museum.

Donna Clayton, the museum’s finance director, said she’s seen the event grow in recent years. She thinks the historic significance of the Harvey House and its trackside location, add to the event’s popularity.

“There’s just a lot of people interested in the railroad and the Harvey House,” she said.

Harvey Houses were created by Englishman Fred Harvey as a national chain of railway hotels and restaurants in the 19th century.

The event brought out local and visiting railfans of all ages, some for the history and some for the models.

“We’re all enthusiasts really,” said J.J. Hepburn, member of the Southern Nevada N Trackers club, which had their model railroad on display. Hepburn said that travel by train is special for most Americans, distinct from a car ride or plane flight.

“If you’re enjoying the trip, you’re probably going by train,” he said. “When I get on a train, most of the problems I was thinking about, I’m not thinking about them by the end of the trip because I’m too busy looking out the window.”

Carl Heimberger, director of the Cajon Division of the National Model Railway Association, said the chance to recreate a world of big machines on a small scale is why many people enjoy model-railroading.

“Any time we can get a chance to show off our trains, we’ll take it,” he said.

Looking at the mini-locomotives wasn’t enough for some attendees; they wanted to drive the trains.

Dylan Shipley, 11, jumped at the chance to practice being an engineer though a train simulation software program.

“This is awesome,” he said as he “drove” a BNSF locomotive through an on-screen environment similar to the Cajon Pass, complete with a computerized version of the Harvey House.

Barstow resident Brenda Dunn said she looks forward to the annual show for the crafts.

She said she goes to meet fellow crafters and to sell her creations of pressed wildflowers.

Dunn said that despite Barstow ’s hosting of tourist-friendly events like the craft and rail show and the sandcastle competition, she feels most travelers still skip over Barstow on the way to somewhere else.

“I’d like to see that change because Barstow has a lot of history, a lot to offer,” she said.

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