(The Sioux City Journal published the following story by Karen Schwaller on its website on September 10.)
SPENCER, Iowa — What began as one man’s love of model trains has grown into a display of spectacular interest, drawing thousands of visitors annually to the Clay County Fairgrounds in Spencer.
The Smoky Mountain Central Railroad, located in The Depot building on the eastern side of the fairgrounds, features 21 operating HO rail lines. (“HO” refers to the 1/87th scale size of the trains). And if a person were to investigate the story of the 100-foot-by-36-foot rail line layout, it wouldn’t take long to hear the name Ben Sanders.
“Ben Sanders was a model railroader, and it was his greatest desire to have a building dedicated to model trains,” said Jim Bonnstetter, a Milford resident who now oversees the entire operation. “This layout is the envy of model railroaders. A lot of things have to happen to get things all turned on and going … this is not what you would call ‘rinky-dink.’ ”
This year’s Clay County Fair continues through Sunday.
Bonnstetter said the history of the trains at the fair dates back to 1947 when a much smaller version of the elaborate train layout was set up for the first time in the KICD Radio building on the fairgrounds. Sanders, who then owned KICD, and Bonnstetter began working together on a train layout that would become what Bonnstetter calls, “The envy of model railroaders today.”
“It was Ben’s desire to have a building on the fairgrounds to have his trains and make them a permanent part of the Clay County Fair,” he said. “After Ben received control over the entire building in which they were housed, the KICD building expanded and allowed for room to expand the train set-up, too.”
The model railroad began with seven trains. Bonnstetter said the tracks were in worn-out condition after a period of time and that it was difficult to keep them all running for 12 hours a day throughout the duration of the fair. Finally a new, year-round building for them was constructed in late 1998 and early 1999. It was donated to the Clay County Fair by Ben and Betty Sanders, along with their son, Bill (and Becky) Sanders, and the Iowa Great Lakes Broadcasting Company, Inc. Today that building is known as The Depot.
Almost 95 percent of the scenery in the former radio station building was salvaged for use on the new layout, including the 50-year-old trestle.
The first track was installed in June 1999 and the first train ran in the same month. The following are some statistics which speak to the magnitude of the project:
— Roughly 4,000 feet of track have been installed since June 1999.
— More than 250,000 feet of wiring have been installed to make it all run.
— Nearly 400 bags of Plaster of Paris have been used so far.
— When completed, the layout will have more than 1,500 buildings and 11,000 small figures and cars.
— Nearly 6,500 trees have been “planted” around the display.
— More than 20 new bridges have been installed.
— 64 rheostats have been installed to control the 110 lights in the lighting system. Almost 400 feet of track lighting illuminates the layout.
— The collection features nearly 1,700 engines and almost 7,000 train cars, carrying the names of famous rail companies such as Burlington Northern, Santa Fe, Southern Pacific, Soo Line, Milwaukee, and more.
Bonnstetter said the basement of the building rests beneath the entire railroad layout. Access to the railroad system can be attained from beneath it by climbing ladders located in the basement. The ladders bring a person up through holes at various places around the layout, which are virtually unseen by visitors. Sensors in the wiring allow him to oversee the rail system from his seat at the control panel, so he knows the location of each and every engine. Bonnstetter said the knowledge of wiring he carries with him from his days in aviation electronics in the military have helped him to be creative in getting power to all the necessary places. And that’s not the only way he needs to be creative.
“I like it when people can’t figure out how it works,” he said of some of the intricacies of the rail system. Some of the mysteries he has created include smoke coming out of a smokestack at the steel mill site; a hot air balloon that flies; a helicopter with rotors that work, and more.
“I love the challenge of figuring out how to make things like this work, and I like things to look real. It takes a lot of time and imagination. I like to hear people say, ‘How did you do that?’ ”
The display includes a miniature golf course.
“It’s a nine-hole, par-three course,” Bonnstetter quipped. “I had an unusual space to fill, so I decided to put a golf course there. It has 27 golfers, the nine greens, a sand trap, a club house and golf bags and golf clubs. The bags and clubs were really a challenge to make from scratch, but it got done.”
Some of the other scenes around the railway include Mt. Rushmore and Crazy Horse, an oil field (with operating oil drills), a wedding, a race track, farm scenes, an ice skating scene, a circus, a miniature version of the Clay County Fair (including the race track), a Christmas village and other scenes, some of which have a local flavor. One of those scenes includes a miniature version of the city of Milford’s main street, complete with a parade coming through (as it does each summer), and a local pizza giant’s logo on the trailer of a semi coming though the town.
Bonnstetter, a retired Iowa Highway Patrol officer since 1987, said his work on the rail system is all volunteer.
“I’m here on and off all year … I just tinker around and work on different ideas. I get new ideas each year until all the space is filled, then I take it apart and do something different,” he said.
Bonnstetter works 14-hour days each day during the nine-day fair, but he said he wouldn’t give it up.
“I love to talk to people. We have heard from people in several parts of the world about this model railroad. People seem to be amazed by this whole thing,” he said.
The value of the set-up, including the building that houses it, totals about $650,000.
Ben Sanders, who used to provide funding for the attraction, died in 2002. Today the Smoky Mountain Central Railroad is funded completely through donations.
“Ben stayed alive because of these trains,” Bonnstetter said.”He would come out here in his wheelchair to talk to people about them and run the controls. He absolutely loved being around these trains.”
For more information and photos of the Smoky Mountain Central Railroad, visit the home page at http://smokymountain.8k.com.