BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Every winter, the Black Diamond Society of Model Engineers opens up its Bethlehem building to the public on a handful of weekends.
Inside 902 E. Macada Road, members of the club — which is named after the Lehigh Valley Railroad’s former flagship passenger line — supervise a half-dozen trains running on two sprawling sets of tracks.
Members have been tinkering with the 800-square-foot track upstairs, with smaller trains winding their way around a mountain scene, since the Black Diamond Society moved to its current building in 1980.
The tracks downstairs, in a layout covering 650 square feet, are more recent. They are also slightly wider, with proportionally larger-scale trains running on them.
A few feet away, the club’s shop sells all manner of tiny trains and scenery.
The funds go back into maintaining and upgrading the two sets of tracks and their elaborate miniature scenery. Every member has a different set of skills, and works on what they do best.
Most of the engines and railcars belong to club members; the club owns and maintains the tracks. The model trains represent a broad range of railroad history, from the age of steam locomotives to modern diesel engines.
“There's like a tranquility when it's running and everything's in place — like a babbling brook.”Tim Rue, Black Diamond Society of Model Engineers member
Both sets of tracks include homages to the Lehigh Valley, like model Bethlehem Steel railcars, a model of a Lehigh Cement plant and quarry, and a trolley park reminiscent of the predecessors to Bushkill Park near Easton and Dorney Park near Allentown.
On Sunday, a handful of young children watched the trains go down the tracks, surrounded by their equally transfixed families, as volunteers talked about their creation to visitors like a proud parent.
“There's like a tranquility when it's running and everything's in place — like a babbling brook,” said club member Tim Rue. “It's like your own little world.”
Several members described the club as a chance to connect with other model railroaders with similar interests and unique skills to share.
Inviting the public to see their work, they said, also lets them share an interest in model trains and the region’s railroad history with the next generation.
“It’s nice to show the young people what it’s all about,” said the club’s youngest member, 13-year-old Jack Gal. “Hopefully, they'll come back when they're old enough to help us out, when we're all old.”
Sunday was part of the club's Railroad Days, which continue in January and February — Jan. 6-7 and 13-14; and Feb. 3-4.
“I can remember coming here as a kid… now we’ve come full circle. Now we're adults and the kids still come,” said Black Diamond Vice President Ray Viohl.
“People still have a nostalgia for things like this.”
