The little trains that could

Jerusalemites will be treated to the sight of more than a kilometer of track, with 40 model trains of all kinds.

By SYBIL EHRLICH
Model train 521 (photo credit: Marc Israel Sellem)
Model train 521
(photo credit: Marc Israel Sellem)
What better place to house a model railway exhibition than Jerusalem’s first station? The first of its kind in Israel, a spectacular display called “Trains” is scheduled to open at the First Station compound on July 17.
The huge exhibition covers the entire world of model railways from various historic periods, from steam to electric trains, at a scale of 1:87 (one of the most popular sizes for model railways, known to aficionados as HO). There will be more than a kilometer of track, with 40 trains of all kinds running on it, 10 stations, 1,000 houses and other buildings, topographical feature.
The exhibition was originally scheduled to open on July 1.
However, when I went to see how work was progressing on Thursday of last week, it seemed impossible that the deadline could be met, and the opening is now planned for July 17.
Project director and railway enthusiast Shimon Futterman says the exhibition “will provide a window on the hobby of railways – both models and real ones – and it’s about time Jerusalem had an exhibition of this kind, which will enhance the leisure opportunities of the city. A tremendous amount of work and patience is involved in building the exhibition, but it’s worth it.”
He said the display is constructed in such a way that it can be dismantled in sections and reassembled at other locations, either elsewhere in Israel or abroad.
The exhibition will be open Sundays to Thursdays from 10 a.m.
to 10 p.m., and on Saturdays from an hour after the end of Shabbat until 10 p.m. It will be closed on Fridays.
The admission charge of NIS 75 may seem high, but the costs of mounting such an exhibition are enormous. Model railways are not cheap to buy. A typical locomotive made by the well-respected Märklin company costs anything from 80 to 400 euros, and a basic “village” flat-pack of two houses and a church is in the region of 50 euros, so it is obvious that this is not an inexpensive undertaking.
Futterman says he and his team are placing emphasis on rare and unusual trains, with the aim of appealing to model railway enthusiasts from all over the world, as well as the general public from all over the world. The exhibition will run until September 2. For more information: www.trainsworld.co.il