16th annual
Train Show & Swap Meet
By: North Olympic Peninsula Railroaders
• 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 17
• 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 18
290 MacLeay Road, Sequim Prairie Grange
Cost: Free; includes displays, vendors, train displays, prizes and more
by MATTHEW NASH
Sequim Gazette
If there’s one thing that’s been consistent in Steve Stripp’s life, it’s been trains, he says.
Wall to wall in his home there are multiple train layouts from the Christmas train near the front door to the room dedicated to parts and models to the the ongoing project he’s tackling in a back room. His latest project is helping to continue the North Olympic Peninsula Railroaders’ annual Train Show & Swap Meet this weekend at the Sequim Prairie Grange. The show features model trains of all sizes, running train sets, hands-on train sets, vendors, giveaways and more.
But through the years and the effort, what does railroading mean to Stripp?
“It’s a peaceful time,” he said. “It’s a chance to go back.”
He’s told his time with trains started at age 2 living in Berkeley, Calif., when he received a wooden train set.
“I kept it so clean I got another one for Christmas at age 3,” he said.
From there his passion continued to grow.
He recalls growing up near a train station and getting to see a steam engine from the inside for the first time with a friend. They even got to split an apple with the conductor.
In his pre-teens, he began collecting Märklin Trains from Germany before costs for sets and tracks began to rise, too. His collection is far from over though, as Stripp, a retired early childhood development educator, says he continues to hunt online and at swap meets for deals.
One focus of his time now is the ongoing train room project which he pegs at about one quarter done. By the time he finishes the four sections with his friend and fellow club member Steve Hauff, the set will be 8 feet by 14 feet. They designed the set to be relatively lightweight combining Stripp’s Märklin trains and Hornby trains.
Even though it’s only partially finished with meticulous wiring and model buildings and railways, the project already has bridged his child and adult hobby.
Trains on the peninsula
Like every year, Stripp said club members hope the train show creates new interest or revives old tastes to bring in new members at all levels of interest in railroading.
John Kumparak, a general contractor and vice president for the club, said the club and show can be about educating people, too.
“We want to keep the heritage of the railroads that came through here alive,” he said.
At the Dungeness River Festival, Kumparak said some children who visited their booth were surprised to learn trains traveled over the Dungeness River Railroad Bridge, which locals celebrated its 100th anniversary this year.
Kumparak says potential train enthusiasts also can join the club to learn about trains in general, go on trips to other shows and model railroad displays and more.
Some of the club members come from a background in trains and/or engineering and can offer a lot to newcomers, he says.
Kumparak said he hopes bringing in more new members to the club can keeping it going, too.
The club’s members keep an active presence with displays at the Dungeness River Festival, Clallam County Fair and the club’s show but to keep that going takes more dedicated craftsmen, Kumparak said.
At the train show on Oct. 17-18, they’ll run four train layouts with Dick Wolf manning his G-scale (garden) track, along with the club showing its main HO (1:87.1 scale) layout, a 9 feet by 4 feet HO layout for families and a wooden train set for smaller children.
Kumparak said they try to be inclusive with their shows because some train shows don’t even have layouts.
In another state, Kumparak found restrictions in other clubs such as age and interest, for example, which train type you collect.
“Why restrict anyone who wants to join a club?” he asked. “Toy trains should be for anyone.”
For more information on the club, call 582-1316 or e-mail stevenstripp@juno.com.
