A modular train display produced by Harford Community College alumni is open to the public at the Fallston Volunteer Fire and Ambulance Company.
The community college has offered model train classes since 1980. Those who successfully pass the courses are automatically considered members of the Harford County Modular Railroad Group, according to course instructor Dick Schwanke. The group, formally established in the early ’90s, has spent decades creating modular displays, which are made up of separate sections that are assembled, for festivals and shows, especially around the holiday season.
For the first time in the group’s history, its holiday display is at the Fallston VFAC on Route 152, having previously been at Steppingstone Farm Museum in Havre de Grace. A display barn at the museum caught fire in June, which forced the modular railroad group to move locations this year, Schwanke said.
The current display features an interactive HO-scale layout that allows visitors to control the trains using what is called a “digital command center,” which connects to trains in the exhibit using a smartphone app. Informative posters around the room describe the layout and where to control different trains, and volunteers are on site to help visitors interact with the display.
“The biggest difference that we have [from other displays] is that we let the visitors run the trains, that’s a real switch,” Schwanke said. “Most places have ropes and plexiglass walls to keep you from getting in. We’re going, ‘Well, we may take some damage and that just comes out of each individual’s pocket,’ but we feel it’s probably worth it to get people enthusiastic about the hobby.”
The entire layout is about 1,500 square feet, but Schwanke said the model railroad group has built displays as large as 5,000. To put that in perspective, each train will take six minutes to complete just one loop through the landscape, which this year is modeled after Port Covington in Baltimore (now known as Baltimore Peninsula), circa 1970. Three smaller layouts are also present.
The Harford County Modular Railroad Group has no dues, no meetings and no officers, but each year members collaborate on public displays. Members gather ahead of time to plan out each display, and each member is responsible for transporting their own materials to the site of the layout, according to Schwanke.
Art and Science of Model Railroading was the first course related to model trains that was offered at Harford Community College. The eight-week course was offered from 1980 until the COVID-19 pandemic. A second course was offered in 1993, and by 1994, alumni had built enough sections of track to start combining them for display purposes.
Schwanke is one of the railroad group’s earliest members, having been a student of several courses in the mid-90s. Post-academics, he was a guest lecturer before eventually being named lead instructor by Dave Renard, who taught model railroading at HCC for 30 years, in 2008.
“[Art and Science of Model Railroading] is an eight-week course with no prerequisites. We have had people under the age of 12 but that’s probably about the minimum age,” Schwanke said. “Amusingly, the last time we had a 12-year-old in the class, I believe he knew more about railroading than the adults.”
To date, Harford Community College has offered six different model railroad courses which range from teaching electrical wiring to designing a table layout and selecting scenery. These are non-credit courses that carry a roughly $75 registration fee, according to Schwanke, with most of the money used to buy materials to build a display.
“We plan to continue teaching the model train courses in 2025,” Schwanke said in a statement on Tuesday. His goal is to teach another Art and Science of Model Railroading course in January or February, pending approval by the college. There is also a plan to host an open house for the classes sometime next fall in the Chesapeake Center dining halls.
Those interested in registering for a course can monitor HCC’s non-credit registration website for updates.
The Harford County Modular Railroad Group’s display is located at FVFAC’s Cross Roads Station at 3108 Fallston Road in Fallston. The display has been open since Nov. 30 and will remain open until Jan. 5. Hours are Thursdays from 4 p.m. until 6 p.m., Fridays from 4 p.m. until 7 p.m., Saturdays from 11 a.m. until 7 p.m. and Sundays from noon to 4 p.m.
Scwhanke said there are five other modular railroad displays in Harford County which are open to the public at the following locations:
- Bel Air Winter Wonderland, 136 East Gordon St., Bel Air.
- Broom’s Bloom Ice Cream and Dairy Store, 1700 South Fountain Green Road, Bel Air.
- Jarrettsville Volunteer Fire Company, 3825 Federal Hill Road, Jarrettsville.
- Joseph’s Department Store, 122 N Washington St., Havre de Grace. Constructed by the Mason Dixon Large Scale Railroad Society.
- Saint Matthew Lutheran Church, 1200 Churchville Road, Bel Air.
Schwanke said these railroad groups cooperate with and support each other around Christmas, with many posting fliers for other train gardens around their own displays or making visits to bounce ideas off of each other. Hours of operation vary at each location.
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