THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, May 7, 1995 TAG: 9505050084
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: By ROY A. BAHLS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 89 lines
LOOKING DOWN at miniature trains tootling past tiny buildings, John Folke suddenly was pulled into a memory.
``I was there,'' said Folke, of Morehead City, N.C., excitedly pointing to the miniature 1939 New York World's Fair train layout. ``I was 12 at the time and sat right in those grandstand bleachers watching all those trains.''
Folke, now 67, was at America's Railroads on Parade in Williamsburg, gazing at a replica of the fair's locomotive exhibit, which commemorated the completion of the transcontinental railroad. The intricate models chugged back and forth before his delighted eyes.
``It really brings back the memories,'' said Folke, who grew up in New Jersey. ``I can remember holding my father's hand and watching as the steam engines would go through town.''
For Folke and other train lovers, a trip to America's Railroads on Parade is like a trip to childhood.
``Regardless of age,'' said Jake Donovan, who owns and operates the toy train attraction with his wife Anita, ``people just like toy trains.''
Donovan, 50, left his executive job at IBM and opened the doors to his miniature railroad world last June in a 4,200-square-foot building nestled in the heart of the Village Shops at Kingsmill.
Six layouts feature multilevel, remote-controlled model trains. The accompanying miniature scenes, ranging from towering bridges and rural villages to modern cities, are constructed of everything from porcelain to plastic.
An ``engineer'' in a centralized raised control tower offers viewers a narrated tour of the operation. Computerized lighting alternates the scenes from night and day. Two hands-on displays offer push-button operation.
``You'll see trains representing 1830 through to the present,'' Donovan said. ``That's the entire spectrum from the steam to diesel and electric. We never have fewer than 45 running and we have had as many as 49 running at the same time.''
The locomotives, sporting names like Lionel, Williams, Weaver, K-Line and Right of Way, chug across bridges, steam past skyscrapers and creep through small cottage towns and perilous mountain passes.
Donovan estimates he has 200 engines, 1,500 pieces of rolling stock and more than 3,000 feet of track.
``We have patriotic trains, Army and Navy sets, and on certain holidays we run specially decorated ones,'' Donovan said. ``On Valentine's Day we have some red trains with hearts on them and on St. Patrick's Day we run some green trains.''
Several times, Donovan was almost derailed from his dream. The designers were late getting some of the scenes finished, and that delayed the opening. Then, just before they opened the roof started leaking, forcing them to run around with buckets. And the transformer that powers the complex exploded, scrambling the computer and making everything that was moving crash.
Donovan knows who deserves much of the credit for the fact that everything is up and running smoothly.
``I married lucky,'' he said. ``My wife Anita is very good with electronics and repairs. She even does the window layouts and much of the painting. I feel very fortunate.''
It is also no wonder that their two sons, Mark, 6, and Ross, 4, share their love for trains.
``They've been operating toy trains and setting up displays on their own since they were 2,'' Donovan said.
Although some of the engines are worth as much as $1,500, Donovan, who started collecting them in his youth, has not forgotten what they really are.
``I consider them toys,'' he said, ``and they are meant to be enjoyed. Most places would have these displayed on shelves and behind glass, but here they're out and running. This gives people an opportunity to see a toy operating the way it should.'' ILLUSTRATION: ROY A. BAHLS/Color photo
A model of a Norfolk and Western streamlined Northern dashes over a
high trestle at the America's Railroads on Parade exhibit in
Williamsburg.
by CNB