(The Associated Press circulated the following story by Donna McLain on May 24.)
HILLSDALE, Mich. — A love of trains must run in the blood of the Kammer family.
Ray Kammer Sr. said his love began as a child.
“My mom and dad got me my first model train when I was 2 years old,” he said. “It’s the hobby that got out of hand.”
That could be a matter of perspective.
The Kammer family owns two locomotives and seven passenger cars and recently began an excursion line in the area, offering round-trip train rides from Hillsdale to Angola, Ind.
Based in Hammond, Ind., Ray Kammer Sr., his wife, Denise, and 22-year-old son, Ray Jr., all are involved in the business. The Hillsdale-to-Angola trip is a new line, but not a new business, for the family that already runs excursions in other areas of Michigan.
“We are doing the passenger runs from Hillsdale to Angola because we decided to expand a little bit, and this gives people an opportunity to ride a train,” Denise Kammer said of the Lake Central Railroad. “We have been dabbling in train-related things for 22 years.”
She is referring to actual trains, rather than models, which Ray Kammer Sr. admits still fill the basement of his house.
“I bought my first locomotive the same week I found out my wife was pregnant,” he said.
Now the elder Kammer is a certified, federally licensed engineer and his son is a conductor. The move into the family business was a natural step for the younger Kammer.
“I was brought into this when I was born, and have been around trains all my life,” Ray Kammer Jr. said.
His father said it isn’t a simple business.
“We have to find a railroad that is sympathetic to our cause, and will allow us to run the passenger trains,” he said. “We have to go through all the federal hoops regarding maintenance of the cars and locomotives.”
Despite the hoops and red-tape to negotiate, it’s obvious talking to the father and son team that those concerns don’t deter them. Both happily cite the vital statistics of the locomotives and engines owned by the family.
“These passenger cars were built in 1954 and originally used by Union Pacific,” Ray Kammer Sr. said. He and his son then recited the complete history of the cars. The elder Kammer said the passenger cars are in the same shape cosmetically as they were when purchased.
“We use the money first for safety, to make sure they are federally acceptable,” he said. “Upholstery and paint come last.”
The Kammers would like to share the train-ride experience with as many people as possible.
“I would like to take out school groups,” Ray Kammer Sr. said. “I bet a lot of kids have never been on a train.”
He shrugs off the idea that what he and his family do for a living is exceptional.
“People who have model trains can’t understand how to go to the real thing,” he said. “I’m just a regular guy and don’t have a lot of money. This can be done.”