Before Covid, Sun City residents and the community enjoyed the elaborate model train layout during the holidays at Prairie Lodge. Trains pass through a bustling small town; passengers wait and wave. Children and adults alike marveled at the model train set, the towns, buildings, even a sign advertising Jameson’s Restaurant during the annual train display.
Larry Rostis, club president, said, “Even with everything opening up, at this time we probably won’t be able to set up the train at Prairie Lodge this holiday season. It takes a lot of manpower to move all the set up and do maintenance on the trains. Our membership has aged and we are not capable of lifting and transporting the boards and equipment.”
The club has encountered other issues with maintaining their other train displays.
Rostis said, “Our club is one of the few train clubs in the country that features working model trains in the four most popular gauges; N Scale, the smallest, HO and O scale and also the increasingly popular G or Garden Scale.”
Jim Thomas, vice-president of the Club, added, “The Club does have a Z gauge in the suitcase, but is not set up for public viewing.”
Twenty years later, the club’s outdoor display needs extensive repairs. Rostis contacted a contractor and the cost estimate for the rebuilding of the infrastructure came with a price tag of $45,000; an amount that the club does not have.
Joe Vavra, Treasurer of the Club, has been in the club since 2004.
He said, “We began the club in 2002. We added our outdoor layout of the G Scale train in 2005. We were fortunate to have partners in that project. A lot of talent and time that’s gone into this. The Woodchucks’ built a lot of the woodwork and continue to help us. The Garden Club did a wonderful job in designing and planting the landscape. It was a wonderful alliance.”
The club is celebrating its 20th year anniversary this year and is holding an open house on June 20, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Rostis, “Everyone is welcomed. We are located and share the parking lot of Eakin Field and we are on the lower part of the barn, below the Millgrove Woodshop.”
Rostis said, “Again, our Sun City Clubs are coming to our aid. The Sew n’ Sew Club has designed a beautiful train-themed quilt that we will be raffling off. The Tall Oaks Tennis Club president, Duan Fontana, came up to me after I had spoken at the Presidents’ Council meeting and had informed the clubs that we may have to shut down the club. He offered to donate funds from their Pro-Am event on June 12.”
Fontana said, “We are hosting a fun event with our tennis pros on June 12, and tennis players will have a chance to play against a pro, but with a decided handicap such as playing with a wooden tennis racket, different lines, etc. We are happy to help another club in Sun City maintain their club.”
There are a multitude of ways to support the club, as a donor or member, setting up the holiday display or buying a raffle ticket for a beautiful piece of art created by the quilters in the Sew N Sew Club.
Clarence Izydorski, club secretary, said, “While our club is mainly devoted to enhancing and operating the club’s layout, we also visit other clubs in the area and have speakers share railroading knowledge and experiences with our members.”
Contact Joe Vavra at 847-515-3053 to join the club or support the club in any way that you can.
Vavra said, “Without the community’s support, we would not be able to do the work that we do.”
