Down Ore Street in Bowmanstown, in a little white chapel with a pale red door, exists a world far beyond the borough. 

Like the one that inspired it, in this miniature realm, the mountains are covered in trees. A different scene waits around every bend. A coal breaker refines the once-precious resource at one corner; a small town comprised of brick buildings stands at another. Orange dump trucks drive loads of rubble down the hill and toward the breaker, the heart of a nearby coal town. 

The detail is almost too much to take in, but after circling the scaled-down replica inspired by the area, Carbon Model Railroad Society’s display offers a glimpse into the county’s long history. In fact, Garry Mack, the society’s president, often says model railroad enthusiasts are also historians. 

Like the trains that once ran through Carbon, local railfans retrace their paths, bringing to life once more the industries, companies and people that made the county what it is.

Mack, who recalls loving model trains ever since he was a child watching one circle the base of his Christmas tree, helped start the Carbon Model Railroad Society in 1985. But it wasn’t until 2002 that the association found a permanent home in the Bowmanstown church. 

Back then, the building was just one story, and there was no bathroom. The society remedied that by separating the church into two - a workshop on the first floor and a storage room on the second.

Society members took on all the renovations. "We did all this just so we could play with our trains," Mack joked. 

"I didn't want to have to run down to the Lehigh Valley or somewhere to belong," he added, pointing out that Carbon Model Railroad Society is the only one in the county.

The society is made up of about 60 active and inactive members, Mack estimated. On that roster is Jason Andreas, of Lehighton, who first joined the club in 1995. 

“I started going to their train shows back when I was a kid,” Andreas said. The Chestnut Ridge Railroad used to rush behind his childhood home in Palmerton. 

A model train collector and admirer, Andreas is also one of the club’s few members who works with the machinery every day, as an engineer and conductor with Norfolk Southern. “I play with the big ones during the week, and then these on the weekend,” he quipped.

Carbon Model Railroad Society’s intricate setup isn’t a tourist attraction, Mack said. It’s “a labour of love,” the result of years of effort, collection and design by a group of dedicated members. And for most of the year, that group is the only one to see the display. 

But lucky for the rest of us, Carbon Model Railroad has opened its doors again this holiday season. It has put on at least two open houses every month since November, and next month, you’ll have one last chance to see take in the exhibit for yourself. 

"You want to show off your work, and this is the best time to do it," Mack said.

On Jan. 4 and 5, the next open house will take place at the club’s homebase at 529 Ore St. It will start at 1 and going until 4 p.m.

There’s no admission cost.

Captions: 

A coal breaker sits around one bend in Carbon Model Railroad Society’s intricate train display. DANIELLE DERRICKSON/TIMES NEWS

ABOVE: A small town erected in Carbon Model Railroad’s exhibit. DANIELLE DERRICKSON/TIMES NEWS

Trucks heave rubble up and down small-scale mountains. DANIELLE DERRICKSON/TIMES NEWS

 

A miniature woman waves to those visiting the display. DANIELLE DERRICKSON/TIMES NEWS

 

A train whizzes by down the track. DANIELLE DERRICKSON/TIMES NEWS