A party on the tracks
By Melody Brown-Peyton
Published in News on August 6, 2018 5:50 AM
Full Size
News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
Doug and Bobbie Fitzpatricka look at a display modeled after Wilmington around the 1940s during the The Sipping and Switching Society of North Carolina's annual Summerfest at the Goldsboro Family YMCA Sunday. The two-day event featured tracks from around the state.
The gymnasium at the Goldsboro Family YMCA was transformed into a sea of trains and tracks Sunday as the Sipping and Switching Society of North Carolina held a train fest for replica train collectors.
It was a time for collectors of the fast engines to showcase what made their trains so unique.
Trains were set up along with replicas of cities and the tracks stretching 5,000 feet across the gymnasium floor. There was a replica of a train running through the campus of North Carolina State University.
Joe Balint, who serves as president of the group, said that it was a day for collectors to come together and talk about trains. Balint said that he can never remember a time growing up that he did not have a train.
He now spends his time traveling throughout the country attending different train exhibits. Balint developed his love for trains growing up and now enjoys collecting them as a hobby.
He said that with modern technology, trains can be put together in two to three hours.
Balint said the event is more of a train party and not a train show. He said that train shows are larger and are held in larger venues. Balint said they are thrilled to host their event at the Goldsboro Family YMCA.
He said that he has been playing with trains his entire life.
The layout of the trains on display inside the gymnasium is the same layout the group has been showcasing around the country for the past 27 years.
The Sipping and Switching Society of North Carolina has displayed the trains in 11 other states and 30 cities.
Wil Quiram also took part in the event and said that he just enjoys being around others who collect trains.
"It is a lot of fun putting together a train operation," Quiram said. "It is like putting a puzzle together with your friends."
Mary Richardson made the event a play date for her 7-year-old son Ian Richardson and his friend Israel Steadman, 6. She said that both of the boys enjoy the science behind the work of trains.
Some of the trains that were on display date back to the 1950s. Many who came out to view the display said it was great to see such an array of trains.
Richard Raburn, who took part in the event, said that one of the reasons why people are so fascinated with trains is because of the large layout of trains that are on display. He acknowledges that the event is a social event for train lovers.
"It's just fun," Raburn said.