DICKSON, Tenn. (WTVF) — The roads we travel today were once more rail. The United States is approaching 200 years of railroading, and in Dickson, a model railroad display inside a 113-year-old building is keeping that history alive.
The Clement Railroad Hotel Museum at the Hotel Halbrook State Historic Site served as a railroad hotel for 40 years. Today, it is home to a detailed, ever-changing model railroad layout built by the Dickson Model Railroad Club.
"Based on early photographs of downtown Dickson from the 1920s, 30s, and 40s, they were able to recreate the downtown scape," said Zach Kinslow, who runs the historic site.
He said Dickson's railroad history carries significant regional weight.
"We were one of the most important rail hubs in the state of Tennessee, if not the southern United States," Kinslow said.
"It has always been something that has really fascinated the American public, young and old," Kinslow said.
The model layout includes recreations of Dickson landmarks — a fire station, train station, Ferris wheel and general store, among others. Jere Swader, a member of the Dickson Model Railroad Club for about 10 years, said the display is never truly finished.
"We're adding new features all the time," Swader said.
But keeping the layout running takes effort, and Swader said the club's membership skews older.
"A lot of us older guys, it's hard for us to get underneath and do the intricate wiring and things that's required," Swader said.
"Most of us are retired," he said. "And we do have a couple of members that are younger," Swader said.
The club hopes even more younger peope will step in to help carry the work forward.
For some members, the hobby is more than a pastime. Several are veterans, and Swader said the club has become a place of healing.
"We are retired military and retired civilians as well," Swader said.
"Most of us, me included, don't really like to talk about the war," he said. "Unless we're talking to each other."
"[The model will] keep your mind off of the bad things and you can concentrate on the better things," Swader said. "The more time you can put into this, the more self-satisfaction you could have."
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