Evan Wise looks at an Accucraft Live Steam 1:32 scale engine (with a price tag of $4,495).
Drew Barshinger celebrates his birthday Saturday by riding a Kid-Steam Pedal Train.
Dennis and Gary Schlossman grew up playing with model railroads.
But as each brother moved out, got married and started a family, the toy trains went into boxes.
And stayed there.
Once their children were grown, the Schlossmans returned to their long-ago hobby — in a big way.
The Lower Susquehanna Valley Modular Railroaders club gives the brothers a great excuse to rescue their trains from basement banishment and share them with an appreciative audience.
Gary, who got his first train 50 years ago, says, "It's our second childhood."
The Lancaster-based club is among 150 groups displaying train layouts, collections, memorabilia and merchandise for fans of all ages this weekend, at Greenberg's Toy & Train Show.
Organizers estimate that nearly 3,000 people crowded the Lancaster County Convention Center Saturday for the show, which also runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. today.
"I don't care how old you are or how young you are," says club member Charlie Sauer, of Washington Boro. "You like toy trains."
Greenberg, billed as the oldest train show in the Northeast, hosts 25 shows annually in a dozen venues. This is the show's first-ever stop in Lancaster.
"Our goal is to bring model railroading to different communities," says Randy Bachmann, president of Train Shows Inc., which owns Greenberg. "We're always looking for new places."
Many local train enthusiasts say they appreciate having a large-scale train show in town. At times Saturday morning, the line to get in the show's doors stretched into the lobby of the adjoining hotel.
"We've been at the Choo-Choo Barn [in Strasburg] so many times," says Kay Baldrige, of Millersville, who came to the show with her husband, Jordan, and their children, Keegan, 5, and Ellie, 2.
Trains, of course, are the main attraction. The show's 350 tables include eight operating layouts in G, HO, N and O gauges.
Dealers from all over the Northeast sell all types of trains, along with collectibles, toys, T-shirts, books, DVDs, paintings and signs. Presenters offer workshops on topics from layout wiring to scenery setup.
Model railroading is experiencing a resurgence, Bachmann says, which he attributes at least in part to lean economic times. People who can't swing a $500 car payment can afford an engine or some tracks.
"They can get away from the realities of life," he says. "There's just so much you can do with (trains)."
For many exhibitors and attendees, trains evoke nostalgia. Larry Loyko, of the Philadelphia-area East Penn Traction Club, handmade the tracks in his trolley layout, driving four tiny nails through every tie.
Loyko's layout represents a rural trolley line near his Delaware County home, as it appeared in 1910. The area, he says, is now a four-lane highway.
A few steps away, a fascinated Jeremy Lueders, 3, watches an HO-gauge display. Jeremy loves anything to do with trains, says his grandfather, Keith Engle, of Columbia.
And perhaps even more importantly, Engle says, "Grandpa likes trains."
Dan Mohler, of the Strasburg Rail Road Shops, says trains — especially Thomas and the gang — are a fun way to engage kids' imaginations.
"Kids who are 4 or 5 know more about Thomas trains than I do," he says.
In another corner of the convention center, 3-year-old Drew Barshinger, of York, pedals a ride-on train around a track, an engineer's cap perched on his blond head.
"He's a big fan of trains," says Drew's dad, Gary. "It's his birthday. So we're here ... today."
Meanwhile, Scott Weis, of Mountville, checks out train merchandise with his 3-year-old grandson, Evan.
Weis says he didn't have the money for toy trains when his children were younger. But now that they're grown, he has returned to his old hobby.
Admiring a 1:32 scale Accucraft Live Steam engine, Weis says his love for trains does have limits. This particular engine costs $4,500.
SHOW DETAILS
Greenberg's Toy and Train Show runs 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. today, at the Lancaster County Convention Center, 3 E. Vine St. Admission is $7. Children 12 and under are free. Discounted parking is available in nearby garages. For more information, visit greenbergshows.com.
Greenberg's Toy & Train Show