Train club needs a new depot
PRINCETON — A local model railroad club needs a new place to hang its hat ... or rather to run its tracks.
The North Central Illinois Model Railroad Club (NCI) has met for the past three years in the west room of the Princeton Amtrak Depot. The club was recently informed by Princeton Zoning Officer Pete Nelson that the club will have to move, ideally by the end of the month. The city has allowed the club to use the space free of charge. Club members would obviously love to find a similar situation, NCI member Tricia Sennett said.
The club has built a 24-foot by 24-foot permanent model tracks and display in the back room of the depot station, Sennett said. Club members have also built a portable display which they took last year to the county fair. Club members would like to find a new place large enough to set up the permanent display as well as the portable display.
Sennett said NCI is about 20 members strong, with people coming from Princeton, LaMoille, Malden, Manlius and Mendota.
The NCI doesn’t have a lot of funds with which to work, Sennett said. Each member pays $20 dues, and the Bureau County Fair Board also gives the club a donation to bring the portable display to the county fair.
On a personal note, Sennett said the club has meant a lot to her and her family, and she wants that to continue. She’s been a member of the club for four years and seven months. Her husband, daughter and father-in-law are also members.
“Being part of the model railroad club brings my family happiness to play with trains, and we have met some really nice people that we never knew before,” Sennett said. “My husband grew up playing with trains, since his dad was a locomotive engineer for the SOO Line for more than 40 years. His entire family is train crazy, and it has passed on to his grandkids!”
Sennett said she is hopeful someone will come forward with some help so the NCI can continue running its tracks in this area. Sennett can be reached at (815) 878-5339.
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