Trains on display at Paradise Center

The Paradise Center got off to a big start with its railroad display after three avid model train hobbyists gave an all-day workshop at the center Saturday, teaching local volunteers how to get train track down on a custom-made table. By 4 p.m., John Thorson, serving as the engineer of the inaugural run of the "Paradise Northern Pacific," the group was watching the HO train go around the track.

Bill Taylor, Larry Brumback and Kirk Thompson, all from the Bitterroot Valley, volunteered to teach a group of people from the center how to properly lay down the track and how to set up the wiring.

"I don't think we could have done it without them," said Thorson, one of eight volunteers at the workshop. "It's more than just a model railroad display. It's an educational tool to show the importance of the railroad in Paradise and in the valley," added Thorson, secretary of the Paradise School Preservation Committee.

Benita Jo Hanson, the chief coordinator of the exhibit, said the men have about 150 years of model railroading experience between the three of them. Brumback, who took charge of the workshop, has been involved in the hobby for more than 60 years. The Missoula resident created schematics of the Paradise station based on photographs, original railroad station plans dating to the 1920s, along with maps, aerial views of the area, and by personally visiting the site. It was from his schematics that the group was able to lay out the 135 feet of track Saturday.

The display will consist of two tables, built by Thompson Falls resident Rudi Boukal. One is 27 feet long and eight feet wide at one end and five feet wide on the other. It will portray the town of Paradise and part of the railroad station, including the roundhouse, which is being constructed by a man in Washington. The 21-bay roundhouse was used for working on train engines and was in operation for 30 years. The second table, which is about 15 feet long, will show other parts of the railroad station, including the tie plant. The display will be part of the visitor's center, which is sharing space with a makeup of a Paradise school classroom.

The workshop concentrated on only the large table. The group started out by making a pencil layout of the track, followed by applying a quarter-inch thick flexible cork material to go under the track. The track that the committee purchased was flexible enough to bend at curves and corners and not rigid like traditional model train track. In addition, they soldered several pieces of tracks together to make it sturdier and for better electrical continuity, said Brumback. Although the track in the display went in a circle, the real track would lead to St. Regis. Another crosses Highway 200 and heads to Missoula via Dixon. The display design also included a "house track" for work trains and for freight loading and unloading. The time frame they picked for the display was around 1946, when the North Coast Limited went through Paradise, according to Taylor.

Taylor got his first train at age 5 – 67 years ago – and said he's been a railroad hobbyist every since. A founding member of the Missoula Model Railroad Club, Taylor recently moved and is in the process of rebuilding his railroad scene, which will be one of a 1930s mining branch from Drummond to Philipsburg. He and his wife have written five train books. Thompson, a member of the Bitterroot Valley Model Railroad Club, has a 600-square foot train display at his home and built a separate 1,800-square foot building for a second display that depicts a modern era railway from Helena to Garrison.

To get the display operating, Thorson said the Paradise Preservation Committee received grants from the Montana Historical Foundation and the Northern Pacific Railway Historical Association for $9,000.

Most of those who participated in the workshop had a personal connection to Paradise, either by working at the railroad in its heyday or they attended Paradise Elementary School, known to some as Paradise Grade School. Others, such as Don and Gayle Ruguleiski and Marc Childress, just wanted to help with the center's project.

Shirley King and her sister Judy Stephens, along with Rick Jones and Dave Colyer, attended school at Paradise in the very classroom where the train display is located and at one time worked for the railroad. Colyer was employed at the tie plant from 1974-1982 and was working on the day the plant was destroyed by fire. Colyer has several railroad artifacts that will be shown at Paradise Center. As youngsters, King and Stephens delivered newspapers to the railroad station. Stephens said they have three 8mm films from the 1920s, '40s, and '70s and are looking for some place to convert them to a digital format to be seen at the center. They are also searching for photographs of the old tie plant.

Hanson, a former Paradise School student, said the railroad was instrumental in the creation of Paradise and said the exhibit is an important part of the Paradise Center. She has plans for a second workshop, where the same three men will provide instruction on creating landscape and the buildings for the display. She said most of the buildings for the display will have to be custom made. Anyone interested in helping with the exhibit or attending the second workshop can contact Benita Jo Hanson at 826-3953.