St. Alban’s Railroad Open House

StARRing: The Train!

StARR, (St. Alban’s Railroad,) will hold it's 24th annual open house Dec. 6 & 7, 27 & 28, Jan. 10 & 11, Special Thursday evening Jan.15 7 -10 PM, 24 & 25, Feb. 7 & 8 , special Thursday evening Feb 19 7 - 10 PM, Mar. 7 & 8, all Sat. and Sun. events except where noted from 1 PM to 4 PM. Best time to visit is between 2:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. No admission is charged, but donations are greatly appreciated. The railroad's completely rebuilt, fully operational steel mill now features an accurately rendered open hearth, thanks to a generous donor. Also featured are a maintenance of way train, a finely detailed oil refinery, and improvements to the Wilson Coke Plant, a meat packing plant and three working classification yards.

The tunnel connecting Sonestown with Perkiomen Junction is still under construction, a great opportunity to see how the railroad is made, as well as the continued rebuilding of the Reading module. Techie alert: All switches on the main line are now controlled by computer assisted central dispatch and the computer assisted signal system is now complete. A finely detailed, 4000 square foot layout, using "state of the art" Digital Command Control (DCC), fills a 4000 square foot room with 225 feet of four-track main line with working signals and 3 branch lines. StARR uses a unique custom waybill system for freight and passenger operations to route over 1000 pieces of rolling stock throughout various eras featured in the eastern Pennsylvanian scenery. Realistic operations include modules featuring an operating transfer table, electronic turntable and three working freight yards with engine facilities and a large variety of equipment. StARR, the "most kid friendly" model railroad group in the greater metropolitan area, offers hands on displays. "Thomas the Tank Engine" operates here ! Members sometimes offer visiting kids an opportunity to "operate" on the railroad. StARR also operates the "Hogwart's Express" complete with British whistle, so feel free to bring the kiddies! Some of the club's most regular visitors (along with their parents) frequently spend the entire afternoon. See the railroad from the engineer's perspective via the camera train. Don't miss the informational slide show, on computer, which supplies lot's of details for all visiting rivet counters. Finally, shop the white elephant table for great bargains in trains, buildings and accessories. Sorry, StARR is not handicapped accessible at this time. For more information visit our website: http://StARR-MRC.org

For more information:   http://StARR-MRC.org

Location:   St. Alban’s Episcopal Church, 3625 Chapel Road, Newtown Square, PA

This event is appropriate for:   the whole family

Cost: donations appreciated