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Washington man keeps model trains on track at Crown Center

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Steve Mitch sets the speed for a few of the trains as they run along the 44-foot display at Washington Crown Center.

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Jaxson Hawkins, 3, of Washington enjoys the train display at Washington Crown Center in North Franklin Township.

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Steve Mitch reaches for a train that is part of the display at Washington Crown Center.

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Railroad enthusiast Steve Mitch makes a few adjustments on the train display at Washington Crown Center in North Franklin Township.

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An amusement park is one of many sights along the 44-foot train display at Washington Crown Center.

Joe Jack didn’t consider the railroad to be a career track.

“I stumbled into this,” he said.

As a young man from Bellevue, Jack did something unprecedented in his family: he took a railroad job. His duties took him to the massive Conway Railyard in Beaver County, where he moved. Jack worked as a clerk for 33 years before retiring.

“I didn’t work on the big trains, but I was around them,” he said.

More than a decade later, he is 74, living in Washington and still around trains. “I worked for a railroad, but didn’t get enough of it I guess,” he said with seeming resignation – before chuckling gently.

Inside the former Radio Shack store at Washington Crown Center, Jack is still surrounded by rail cars. Only these are model trains, weaving through and around miniature villages and local landmarks, and a lot of unimaginable stuff.

He is the unofficial leader of the Train Gang, a group of roughly 10 model railroad hobbyists, young at heart and passionate about their pastime, especially during the holiday season. Many of them have gathered for years, at various venues, to set up and show off their massive railroad displays. The mall in North Franklin Township is their latest home.

Their displays have been up and running for a little more than a week, with a somewhat irregular schedule. But starting Black Friday, the little engines that can will operate daily through Dec. 23.

The sound of the men and women working on the Train Gang is generally joyous. “Mainly, we’re people who like the toy train displays that people used to have, but younger generations don’t see anymore,” Jack said. “It’s more than a bunch of trains running in circles.”

He started doing this with a small group in Beaver County, before moving to Washington about 10 years ago. There is no shortage of model train enthusiasts, and Jack formed a new gang based in Washington County – which grew and which officially became Train Gang a few years back. Since then, they have set up shop in six locations in or near the city of Washington. Yet their operation has a large element of permanence.

“It’s always for charity, and always with donated space and donated help,” Jack said, adding there is never an admission charge.

This is the Train Gang’s second year at Crown Center. Jack said the group was, again, searching for a home in 2015 when Civil Knox, the mall’s assistant marketing director, reached out after reading an Observer-Reporter story referring to the gang. Jack said the trains were popular, drawing an estimated 13,700 people during the season.

They were a popular money-maker for charity too. Although Jack declined to provide specific figures, he said the gang collected enough to distribute a healthy sum to each of six local organizations.

The displays were back on track last week, enticing visitors again. But even when crowds were minimal, the old Radio Shack was an energy center. There are 17 trains clack, clack, clacking throughout the room. Most are O gauge, but there also are HO, N and Z models.

“Some sets are 50 or 60 years old,” Jack said. He pointed to one that is 70, provided by a gang member who got it as a Christmas gift in 1946.

Dominating the room is the humongous 42-foot by 8-foot display featuring trains, villages and a marvelous mix of the unusual. A circus is set up near the middle. There is a monorail gliding above Disneyland and a space shuttle lifted to the heavens by strings. A two-car incline, similar to Pittsburgh’s two inclines, were built by Sam Bear of Canton Township. His wife, Jean, did a lot of the decorating.

Among all of that, Jack devoted space to his hometown. There is a cluster of miniature models of downtown Washington buildings, arranged in no particular order.

Other, smaller displays are set up throughout the former store. There also is a desk where two men make minor repairs and clean train pieces – for a donation.

Jaxson Hawkins of Washington took it all in one day last week – with wide eyes. The 3-year-old son of Chris Hawkins was mesmerized by the moving parts.

“I’m going to have trouble getting him out of the store,” Chris said, laughing.

Although the Train Gang is an industrious bunch, Jack said it can always use more volunteers. He is pleased to be in his element, though.

“It seems like working with these trains is all I’ve ever done in my life,” he said. “But it’s something we all enjoy.”

The Washington Crown Center railroad display will be open Sundays from 1 to 5 p.m. through Dec. 18 as well as the following times:

Black Friday, noon to 8 p.m.

Saturday, 1 to 8 p.m.

Monday, 4 to 8 p.m.

Nov. 29-Dec. 3, 1 to 8 p.m.

Dec. 5, 4 to 8 p.m.

Dec. 6-9, 1 to 8 p.m.

Dec. 10, noon to 8 p.m.

Dec. 12, 4 to 8 p.m.

Dec. 13-17, 1 to 8 p.m.

Dec. 19-23, 1 to 8 p.m.

Dec. 24-25, closed

Dec. 26, 1 to 8 p.m.

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