The Lehigh & Keystone Valley Model Railroad Museum offers a glimpse of days gone by on the rail tracks that went through many parts of the region. Watch video
If you walk into the Lehigh & Keystone Valley Model Railroad Museum's building on Linden Street in Bethlehem, you'll see a lot of trains going around a lot of tracks, but you'll also see so much more.
This HO scale setup is not just trains and tracks but rather a tour of train tracks that run from West Portal, N.J., through the Lehigh Valley, out to Reading and beyond.
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Along the way you will spot recognizable bridges, buildings, scenery and train stations, each built meticulously to scale from memories, photos and documents of the time (about 1950 to 1972).
It's a true labor of love for the members of the LV&K Model Railroad Club, all of whom have their own special areas of expertise: Bob Gombosi, of Bethlehem, my tour guide, does the track work and design; Larry Geiger, of Bethlehem, builds bridges; Mark Samuelson is the signaling person; Howie Gorgs, of Palmer Township, the buildings expert; and Louis Blaukowitch, of Coplay, is the scenery man.
Gombosi knows every inch of track, a lot of it from memory as a boy who rode the rails in Bethlehem.
Train stations that once stood were carefully recreated complete with people waiting for trains, cars waiting for signals and parks, trees, shrubbery, corn fields (each stalk carefully "planted") and a cemetery alongside a church, which pays tribute to club members who have passed.
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The facility is one of only two rail museums in the state, the other located north of Pittsburgh, according to Gombosi. And it isn't done yet. Little by little, track by track, tiny piece by tiny piece, members work to finish the exhibit, which has been an ongoing project for 20 years.
The museum's Christmas open house will be held 1 to 5 p.m. Dec. 12-13, Dec. 19-21, Jan. 1-3 and Jan. 9-10. The museum is also open 5 to 9 p.m. Dec. 28-30. The cost is $7 per adult and free for children under 12.
It's a lot of geography to cover so make sure you allow for plenty of time to take the trip. You won't regret the time you spend at this local cool space.
Do you know of any cool spaces that you'd like to share? Let us know by leaving a comment below or email me at kjfrantz@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow lehighvalleylive.com on Twitter at @lehighvalley. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.