Big turnout at Kitchener Model Train Show
Hundreds of model train enthusiasts flocked to Bingemans for St. Patrick’s Day.
The Kitchener Model Train Show rolled back into town on Sunday and featured nearly 200 vendors.
“I think it’s the kid in everybody,” said enthusiast Paul Timson. “People want something that they had as a kid. Nobody thought this stuff would last this long.”
In addition to trains, tracks and memorabilia, several displays were up and running for passersby to check out.
“We’ve been doing this for about 20 years,” said Gary Gray, a member of a southern Ontario model train group. “We all meet here, it takes about two hours to put them together, and then we run trains for the public.”
“It’s to generate interest. A lot of vendors are here trying to sell stuff, and people see the locomotives running with sound, and they think: ‘Hey, I want to buy that.’”
Collectors and enthusiasts peruse items at the Kitchener Model Train Show on March 17, 2024 at Bingemans. (Chris Thomson/CTV Kitchener)
Gray added that events like Sunday’s show are becoming increasingly important to collectors and enthusiasts.
“With the decline in hobby shops, this type of event is far more important, because it’s where guys get their stuff,” said Gray. “There’s projects at home they’re trying to finish. They’ll come here looking for the components to complete those projects.”
One of several displays at the event. (Chris Thomson/CTV Kitchener)
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Invasive and toxic hammerhead worms make themselves at home in Ontario
Ontario is now home to an invasive and toxic worm species that can grow up to three feet long and can be dangerous to small animals and pets.
I just don't get Taylor Swift
It's one thing to say you like Taylor Swift and her music, but don't blame CNN's AJ Willingham's when she says she just 'oesn't get' the global phenomenom.
Tornadoes collapse buildings and level homes in Nebraska and Iowa
Tornadoes wreaked havoc Friday in the Midwest, causing a building to collapse with dozens of people inside and destroying and damaging hundreds of homes, many around Omaha, Neb.
opinion RFK Jr.'s presidential candidacy and its potential threat to Biden and Trump
Although it's still unclear how much damage Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s candidacy can do to either Joe Biden or Donald Trump this election, Washington political columnist Eric Ham says what is clear is both sides recognize the potential threat.
Cisco reveals security breach, warns of state-sponsored spy campaign
State-sponsored actors targeted security devices used by governments around the world, according to technology firm Cisco Systems, which said the network devices are coveted intrusion points by spies.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
From New York to Arizona: Inside the head-spinning week of Trump's legal drama
The first criminal prosecution of a former president began in earnest with opening statements and testimony in a lower Manhattan courtroom. But the action quickly spread to involve more than half a dozen cases in four states and the nation's capital. Twice during the week, lawyers for Trump were simultaneously appearing in different courtrooms.