On the right track
Quinn Blasch examines one of the model railroad displays at the Venetia Community Center.
Nick Vucich watches as Dave Stanton makes adjustments.
An old photograph of the Montour Railroad is displayed on the model version constructed by the DARE Model Railroad Club.
More or less out of the blue, a model railroad hobbyist from Florida contacted Dave Stanton with the proverbial offer he couldn’t refuse.
“He got our information and sent us those two train sets from 1957,” Stanton said, pointing to one of the ever-increasing number of displays at the Venetia Community Center. “They’re Lionel.”
Suffice it to say that the going rate for such vintage pieces from the nation’s premiere model train manufacturer is beyond the means of many collectors, let alone the group that Stanton runs.
But the DARE Model Railroad Club has been on the receiving end of numerous high-end donations from enthusiasts, locally and, thanks to the internet, beyond.
“What they say is, not as many kids are getting into trains as when we were growing up,” Stanton explained. “People hear about what we’re doing, and they want it to be put into a good home.”
These days, home is the entire third floor of the former Venetia Elementary School, where youngsters – old-timers, too – gather after school each Wednesday for immersion in a fun and educational activity.
“It’s wonderful,” Peters Township resident Kelley Dawso said about the opportunity provided for her son, Hunter, and others. “They get to interact with other kids and adults, and learn a whole lot. It’s like a big family, really. And Dave is a great guy.”
Stanton, a longtime Peters police officer, started the club in the mid-1990s in conjunction with the local Drug Abuse Resistance Education program as a productive outlet for students in third grade and older, with non-athletes in mind.
“If they’re not playing a sport, they’re not getting that teamwork,” he said. “This is hands-on. They get to work with other people, so they have to learn to work together.”
Over the years, more adults have gotten involved, imparting their knowledge and skill sets to add a new dimension to the club’s educational aspect. A scale model of the Montour Railroad, for example, has drawn a great deal of interest from fans of the former short-line company that used to run through the heart of Peters Township.
“We’re really lucky,” Stanton said. “Gene Schaeffer, who has written several books on local railroads, has been fabulous to us.”
The Montour model, which takes up an entire room, features miniature replicas of many sights that once were familiar to local residents, including Greer Tunnel, Montour Mine 4 and Fife’s water tank.
Along with history, club participants learn about carpentry, by fashioning platforms and special features for the displays; art, by painting scenery; and, of course, technology and electronics, by making the trains run.
For that, they receive a good bit of assistance from Nick Vucich, a Penn State mechanical engineering major who makes it a point to visit club headquarters when he’s home on break.
“I pretty much wire up all the stuff that doesn’t work,” the Peters Township High School graduate said. “I’m picky about the way it’s wired, and I can make it all run.”
He also likes to build, and he took the lead in designing a platform for a special donation: a G-scale set, featuring intricately detailed pieces that dwarf those of the far more familiar HO scale.
“I never thought I’d be able to play with G-gauge stuff,” Vucich said. “Getting this is pretty amazing.”
The club has a good representation of the various sizes of rail cars and their applicable tracks, also including the relatively large O and small N scales.
“I really like how there are a lot of scales you can choose from,” Hunter Dawso, a junior at Western Area Career and Technology Center, said.
An enthusiast of both model railroads and the genuine article, he appreciates the opportunities provided by the club.
“I can get to know many other people who are into the same hobby that I am and get to express what I like to do,” he explained.
Among them are Peters Township Middle School student Quinn Blasch, who has been a regular with the club since he was in third grade.
“It’s all really fun,” he said, “and when it all comes together, the electricity and the art, it makes something that looks really great.”
Although the DARE Model Railroad Club is based in Peters, Stanton said that boys and girls from several nearby school districts participate, including Canon-McMillan, Chartiers-Houston, Trinity Area and Upper St. Clair.
If you’re interested in becoming involved or making a donation, contact Stanton at 724-942-5030. And for more about the club, visit www.facebook.com/PTDARERRCLUB.