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For the sixth year in a row, the Danville Science Center welcomed several groups of model-train enthusiasts to mark the anniversary of the Wreck of the Old 97.
It was on Sept. 27, 1903 when the express-mail train careened off a trestle in Danville, falling 75 feet into a rocky creek bed. The accident killed 11 men and injured six.
Sunday, the second day of Danville’s Old 97 Rail Days, had members from about a half-dozen model-train collector clubs showcasing about 15 scaled miles of train tracks and their locomotives.
Organizations from Lynchburg, Richmond, Raleigh, N.C., New Jersey and Pennsylvania participated in the Old 97 Rail Days N-Scale Model Train Show.
“We’ll travel anywhere to run trains,” said Stan Houpt, 62, a member of Keystone NTRAK who lives in the Valley Forge, Pa., area.
Sonya Wolen, assistant director of the Danville Science Center, said the facility has hosted the model-train enthusiasts annually since the 2003 Rail Days on the train wreck’s 100th anniversary.
“That’s what initiated the whole thing; it was the centennial year,” Wolen said. “They’ve been coming back ever since, and we’re happy.”
Following NTRAK standards, train lovers from different organizations contribute size-specific segments of track at events like Rail Days, and railcars are 1/60th the size of the real thing, said Bill Royse, a member of the North Raleigh Model Railroad Club in Raleigh, N.C. Thirty-three feet equal a mile of track. Members also design landscapes along the tracks, including mountains, forests, small towns, cityscapes and train stations. Some reflected their native areas.
“Imagination has no limit as far as what you can do with this,” Royse said.
Don Cariss, a member of the NRMRRC, features buildings from the neighborhood where he grew up in East Orange, N.J., including the original M&M factory. Cariss said the club has set up train shows at nursing homes and hospitals, providing a form of therapy for young and old alike.
Saturday’s Rail Days events included old-time musical performances, and weekend events also included artifacts from the Old 97 train wreck in the Alcove Gallery of the Danville museum of Fine Arts & History and a miniature version of the wreck scene at the Danville Science Station lobby.
Contact staff writer John R. Crane at or 434-791-7987.
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Reader Reactions
The Annual Wreck of the Old 97 Train Show, for model railroaders like myself, is a true diamond-in-the-rough. It is hard to imagine a better venue to practice prototypical railroad operations than a layout that sits less than 50 yards from a busy Norfolk Southern main line. The collection of model railroad clubs that gathers in Danville is dubbed “The Eastern N Lines”, and represents the most collegial, technologically advanced, and dedicated Ntrak (Ntrak.org) enthusiasts on the East Coast. The City of Danville and the Danville Science Center has fostered this great tradition by offering the Pepsi Building and assisting with show logistics. As a member of the Richmond Area Ntrak, I am very appreciative of this support. I cannot wish any better circumstances for myself or my fellow club members to operate in. However, I do wish, on behalf of the good citizens of Danville, that the city expand upon this opportunity to build a community celebration of rail transportation. I believe that City-wide promotion and coordination with other civic groups to create a two-day carnival, would generate tremendous goodwill, tourism, and establish a platform for supporting community causes like Scouts, VFW, FOP, and Volunteer Rescue. Notwithstanding my suggestions, I reiterate my gratitude for this superb model railroad forum.
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