Model trains are popular at Wake Robin
At Wake Robin, the winter holidays provide a special opportunity to transform the campus into a merry, festive environment. The Sugar House is decorated with wreathes and lights, providing a glow to staff and residents driving in and out of Wake Robin Drive during the long winter nights. The annual Christmas tree – almost reaching the ceiling – is placed at the front of the Community Center, so it’s the first thing that greets you as you arrive. Handel’s Messiah tea has been a tradition here for years; friends and neighbors gathered virtually this year to listen in awe to the classic music.
Model trains and their train setups are also a major ingredient to the festive winter atmosphere at Wake Robin. The often elaborate, vintage train sets come from resident railway buffs who make up the Trains Committee, a group devoted to railroads, model railroading, excursions on different lines, the history of Vermont railroads and elsewhere.
Holiday train set up
Wake Robin is resident-driven in name and deed, so the Train Committee began as a simple wish of a resident to organize people with a common interest in all things involving railroads. The founders of the committee presented his plan and purpose to the Wake Robin Resident Association, and the Train Group was officially incorporated in 2018.
Since then, members of the committee have enjoyed learning about and working with model trains, as well as taking some beautiful trips by rail.
One memorable journey occurred in 2019, when 20 residents traveled across to New York to board an Amtrack train which ventured south, hugging Lake Champlain and overlooking the Green Mountains, eventually offboarding Wake Robin residents at the historic Fort Ticonderoga station. One resident remembers the trip fondly, saying “I could stick my hand out and nearly touch the water!”
Many residents trace their railroad interests back to childhood, when they would play with model railroads around a Christmas tree. Some even inherited train models from their grandparents, and one appears in Wake Robin’s lounge train setup, a ninety year old train car that runs like new and even whistles!
The model train set up takes an intense amount of attention and ample time. This year, the Community Center lounge, adjacent to the library, was made available to lay out the tracks. The Train Committee uses model trains and tracks shared from fellow residents, and designs a sort of mini village to accompany the train line. “It can take a week or ten days to make sure everything aligns and runs smoothly,” one member said. In normal times without Covid restrictions, the “train room” becomes a popular hub for friends and family – especially grandchildren – to delight over the locomotives. For now, the Train Committee has coordinated visiting times for residents during the holiday season. It has been an event worth seeing for those just strolling by, and the passionate enthusiasts.
One members summed it up his love for trains in jest: I’m not going to heaven unless they have trains!”
