After over 25 years, Doug and Irene Lamb have stepped away from the annual Peteetneet Train Show, making way for another wave of train enthusiasts to climb aboard.
Gordon Reynolds and a group calling themselves the “O Scalers” after a larger scale of model trains, has stepped in to conduct the Peteetneet Train Show that runs from Dec. 2 -19. And while Reynolds and his team maintain the goal of showing their love of all things model trains, the exhibit will look and feel a lot different than it has before.
“Our group has come in and we’ve changed scales,” Reynolds said. “The equipment we’re running is four times the size of what Doug was running, and his was kind of a whimsical layout with fantasy scenes and such. What we’re doing is we’re actually recreating actual locations here in Utah County.”
Reynolds, who grew up around model trains with grandparents on both sides of his family, said that he got his first model train 50 years ago when he was just nine years old. He explained that the inspiration for this year’s layout comes from Utah photographer Steve Belmont who frequently takes photos of trains in Utah and surrounding areas.
“There is an art show going on here at Peteetneet as well that is featuring art by Steve Belmont who photographs the scenes we’re modeling,” Reynolds said. “There are photographs on the walls corresponding with a lot of the stuff that we’re modeling with our trains.
“We have four different locations that people will recognize,” he continued. “We have the original Rio Grande Spanish Fork Depot that stood until the 1970’s. We also have the Spanish Fork River Bridge that still actually exists, and we’ve recreated it on a quarter inch scale. We have a scene that is modeled after the town of Benjamin with a farm scene with a barn and cows and a farm house. Right now we’re building the structures for what we’re calling the Goshen site, and over in the opposite corner of the display, we have the Keigley Limestone Quarry that is in Genola.”
Much like the display the Lambs put on, this one is a work in progress, and visitors will be able to see the team put it all together.
“We have the track down, and we’re building the structures for the Goshen Siting, and we have the track down and a lot of materials to build the tower,” Reynolds said. “People will get to see how the layout is built. We also have a photo essay of this process on display for people to see. … We’ve only been working on it for about six weeks, so it came together pretty quick.”
The train show is on display Dec. 2 – 19 on Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays from 5:30 pm to 8 pm It is also open on Saturday, Dec. 10 from 10 am to 4 pm.
