Friday, November 26, 2010
Model trains roll into America on Wheels
Train Time Charity Holiday Exhibit opens today at Allentown museum
BY PETE BREKUS The Express-Times

Nothing ushers in the Christmas season quite like model trains.

Unless there are more trains. The model train engineers are practically taking over the America on Wheels Museum, 5 N. Front St., Allentown. Displays will range from your father's O-gauge Lionel and American Flyer-type traditional trains to a Thomas the Tank Engine display to trains made entirely of Lego building blocks.

The museum's second annual Train Time Charity Holiday Exhibit opens today and runs through the end of the year.

Engineers and conductors from Train Time in Whitehall Township will coordinate freight and passenger trains as they wend their way through the museum's galleries.

Many of the displays are interactive, says Bob Metz, Train Time director and the force behind the train-themed exhibits.

"Kids love to push buttons and see all the operating accessories at work," Metz says.

"They can push a button and see the engineers, firemen, conductors and track workers in action." One interactive layout allows children to hoist ore cars from a mine then load the ore onto waiting gondolas.

"The kids can even set off a series of explosions in the mine," Metz says. The Train Time exhibit runs in conjunction with the annual U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots campaign. Visitors are asked to bring toys to donate to children in need.

"Our mission is to fill the bed of the antique Mack truck with presents put on an extremely long train that goes around the museum lobby," Metz says.

"Kids really love to see the presents pile up there."

Another highlight with a holiday connection is the antique taxicab used in the classic 1946 film "It's a Wonderful Life," according to Linda Merkel, museum executive director. Driven by the character Ernie, the cab was used to shepherd George Bailey (Jimmy Stewart) about the mythical New England town of Bedford Falls. The taxi is on special loan from the Nicola Bulgari collection of vintage American automobiles.

"Collectors have always been very supportive," Merkel says. "The taxicab will be on display and we will be playing the movie in our orientation theater."

Rounding out the show is a collection of vintage British cars. Called "The British are coming!" the display includes a 1967 Austin-Healey 3000, a 1962 Austin Mini Cooper, a 1952 Jaguar XK-120 a 1950 MG-TD, a 1967 Morgan +4 and a 1961 Triumph TR3.

Merkel says America on Wheels is ready for the holiday rush. "We're excited," she says. "The trains made of Legos are new this year. We know kids like to tinker and seeing trains made of Legos is pretty cool. Last year we had over 5,000 people. It was fantastic."

Metz is proud of the efforts of his Train Time crew and volunteers in getting the train layouts up and running. "Christmas without trains just wouldn't be right," Metz says. "Like Toys for Tots, it shows that Christmas is about giving."

Museum admission is $9, $6 for students and seniors and free for children 12 and under. For more information, call 610-432-4200 or visit americaonwheels.org.