Model train tour includes Latrobe, Derry Township stops

Seven stops, three of them new additions, are on the itinerary for the Ligonier Rail Road Association’s May 18 tour of local model railroad layouts.

The association operates a rail museum in the restored Darlington Train Station in Ligonier Township. It decided not to hold a tour last year when it couldn’t find new layouts to feature, according to event publicist Richard Sheats.

This year’s 10th annual tour, which is meant to raise money to support the museum, is set for 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. It includes three layouts in the Latrobe and Derry areas being featured for the first time:

• Bob Stutzman, former association president, in Latrobe — O-gauge layout includes a model of the Ligonier Valley Rail Road and scenes representing Idlewild Park and a UFO abduction.

• Ralph and Joanna Shearer, in Derry Township — Features trains in three different scales, ranging from N to G.

• Dave McNichol, in Derry Township — O-gauge layout includes plenty of scenery.

Remaining stops that have been on past tours:

• Bret Pohland, in Derry Township — Large Lionel train layout featuring a drawbridge.

• Scott Graham, in the Ligonier area — Includes O-scale model of large Union Pacific steam locomotive.

• Penn-Ligonier Railroad, in Latrobe — HO-scale layout modeled after trains that once stopped at Latrobe.

• Huber Hall, 300 S. Alexandria St., Latrobe — Displays by the railroad association, layouts by groups from Pittsburgh and Millvale.

Tickets — sold in advance only, through May 11 — are limited to 300 and cost $20, $5 for age 15 or younger.

Tickets and tour maps will be mailed to those who submit orders — including return address, phone number, email address and payment — to: LVRRA, P.O. Box 21, Ligonier, PA 15658. Make checks payable to LVRRA.

Visit lvrra.org for details and a printable order form.