Kiski Township man loves his train display so much, he custom-built his house to fit it

Russ Fry built a house around his beloved hobby.

Fry, 86, of Kiski Township, is a second-generation train display enthusiast.

He designed and constructed a new home on his rural property in Armstrong County about 10 years ago.

Key to the design was including a large, custom basement and storage room to accommodate the Christmas village train setup he began in 1979.

Fry said he was inspired to build his own display after childhood train experiences with his father, Lee Fry.

“My dad had an old Ives train set. He set up a train set every year, making his own houses, and I guess that primed me for doing something like this,” said Fry.

The display features multiple villages, including ones themed after Charles Dickens, the North Pole and Christmas.

“I custom-built the house around my village,” Fry said. “I would put my display up the day after Thanksgiving and take it down the day before Easter. Now, it’s up all of the time.”

Fry began his Christmas village with a single display, on a small platform, in his former residence in Penn Township.

From dancing M&M’s to flying reindeer, a visual Christmas feast for the eyes awaits visitors.

“I enjoy showing the people,” Fry said. “It’s a fun thing to do.”

He keeps a guest logbook, complete with more than 300 names, from visitors as far away as Chile.

“I’m not really into trains,” Fry said, “but I like the layouts, and I just started buying them.”

Hobby shops in the Monroeville, Irwin and New Stanton areas were staple shopping destinations for Fry during the last 41 years of his holiday collecting journey.

“I had monthly payments to some of them,” Fry said, noting that he is “done” with collecting now.

Fry said the estimated value of the village is about $22,000.

Interactive village scenes in the display run the gamut, including cable cars traveling up and down a mountain.

A large cloud hanging from the ceiling makes snow fall on the houses.

Ice skating scenes, British landmarks such as Big Ben and the Tower of London, an illuminated Ferris wheel, assorted castles, snowboarders, Santa and elves and a glittering Times Square ball are a few of the more than 250 buildings and scenes featured.

With the basement lights off, an intricate glow of lights in the train display accompanies winter wonderland scenes complete with churches, choirs singing, quaint European scenes and forest animals.

Fry said he tends to his village several times a week.

A separate storage room houses every box Fry has saved from his decades of display-related purchases.

His favorite scene depicts children ice skating with Santa, complete with a photographer whose old-time camera has a tiny, working flash bulb.

Fry’s daughter, Sue Ott, recalls a childhood filled with display memories.

“My favorite part of the display are the gumdrop trees,” Ott said. “They look real, and I want to eat them every time I’m down there.”

Fry and his wife, Helen, enjoy sharing the display with their 13 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.

Fry retired from Westinghouse, where he worked as a lab technician for 40 years.

His other hobbies include volunteering for The Salvation Army as a bell-ringer, baking cookies and cakes, and woodworking.

“I enjoy coming down and just sitting here,” Fry said. “My wife says this is my man cave.”

Helen Fry said her husband’s holiday hobby provides him with a purpose.

“It gives him something to do and helps his well-being,” Helen Fry said. “It’s his thing. I stay out of the way.”