North Olympic Peninsula Railroaders’
19th Train Show and Swap Meet
• Clallam County Fairgrounds, 1608 W. 16th St., Port Angeles
In the Home Arts/ Hobby Barn (new location)
• 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 13; 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 14
• Free admission, parking
• Model train displays, dealers, raffles and more
• For more information, call 360-582-1316 or email stevenstripp@juno.com
Like their love for trains, North Olympic Peninsula Railroaders’ upcoming show keeps growing.
For its 19th year, members of the miniature railroad collectors club move the annual Train Show and Swap Meet to the Clallam County Fairgrounds, 1608 W. 16th St., leaders say, simply for more space.
The show, featuring train displays, vendors, raffles and more runs 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 13, and 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 14.
Club president Steve Stripp said he and other club members anticipate finishing a second HO-scale layout that replicates a portion of the North Olympic Peninsula’s former railway next year and it likely wouldn’t fit in the Sequim Prairie Grange with the existing layout and the growing number of vendors.
“We realized we had an opportunity to expand with the layout and bring in (other groups) so we went forward with it,” Stripp said.
The location is closer for club members to move the original layout to the fairgrounds, he said, and it will allow more room for about 30 train vendors.
Also, club members welcome a second HO-scale layout from a Bremerton club, and a display 1/8-scale steam engine from the Kitsap Live Steamers.
Railroaders continue to offer an HO-scale set and a wood train set for children to use, too.
The club has been a staple at the Clallam County Fair for nine years in a row setting up their original HO-scale set in the Home Arts/Hobby Barn.
Stripp anticipates easily filling the barn with displays, vendors and people, and he even made a model layout to help with setup.
He said energy among the club’s 36 members is high, with an influx of younger members joining.
This year the club received a grant from the Olympic Peninsula Visitor Bureau to advertise out of the area in the Seattle Times, Model Railroader magazine and hot spots online for train enthusiasts.
They’ve also added more sponsors, including Les Schwab Tires, Lincoln Industrial and “Model Railroad and Legos” from eBay with long-time sponsor Pacific Rim Hobby.
Stripp said they anticipate a good turnout and hope it continues to build for the club’s 20th show next year, which also celebrates the Clallam County Fair’s 100th year.
The North Olympic Peninsula Railroaders meet at 3 p.m. on the last Saturday of the month (Oct. 27 this month) at the Sequim Library, 630 N. Sequim Ave.
For more information, call 360-582-1316 or visit stevenstripp@juno.com.
Reach Matthew Nash at mnash@sequimgazette.com.
During the Clallam County Fair in August, Sequim’s Billy Edwards inspects the North Olympic Peninsula Railroaders’ HO-scale display saying, “This thing is so sweet. It has so much detail.” The club hosts its 19th show at the fairgrounds on Oct. 13-14. Sequim Gazette file photo by Matthew Nash
