Choo-choo

This story was published in the May 18, 1980, edition of the Lewiston Tribune.

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ST. MARIES — Harry Treloar was six years old when he got his first toy train — a wind-up steamer that traveled 30 inches of track and tripped a little boy’s imagination.

Today, some 57 years later, Treloar’s model railroading dreams encompass the entire attic of his home.

“I’ve got my whole little world up here,” he said, climbing through a trap door into a maze of track, miniature buildings and tiny locomotives.

“Rainy days, they’re the ticket,” beamed Treloar, “I turn my radio on up here and I’m just as happy as if I had good sense.”

Model railroad buffs seem to come in two versions — those who like to man the switches and throttle, and those who find fascination in the tinkering and construction. For the most part, Treloar is of the latter persuasion.

“I like the building, the construction. Running the trains doesn’t get to me very much,” said Treloar. “Of course, once in a while I’ll put in an evening of railroading.”

Treloar, 63, a retired Potlatch Corp. safety engineer, has built five model railroads. His current endeavor, a magnificent replica of a mountain mining area complete with two 1,300-foot scale ore shafts, is still under construction.

“The way I work on these things, this will probably be my last,” said Treloar. Once a hard rock miner in Montana, Treloar has also worked for three different railroads, including the Milwaukee Road and the Northern Pacific.

“You see, when you build a model railroad, you have to have a reason,” said Treloar, explaining that his elaborate HO-gauge model is to exact scale and everything is authentic.

“Even our brewing house here pertains to the mining theme,” he said, pointing out the hand-crafted building. “Yeah, the miners, they won’t go underground when they don’t have a little something to drink after they come up.”

Treloar’s penchant for accuracy is such that the two mine shafts, built with 1864 tiny timbers, extends down through the attic floor of his home, Electric powered replicas of huge steam engines lower tiny hoppers down through the floor where ore is scooped up and brought back to the top.

Once back in the attic, the ore is sent on conveyor through the main mine building and made ready for transportation.

“I never have to handle the ore,” said Treloar, “I’ll run a train down to the mine for you, so you can see how it operates.” Treloar has some 70 different steam and diesel locomotives and countless other cars.

“Before I run that engine out, let me show the Mallet,” he said. Easing a throttle ahead, Treloar motioned to the road house, where a superb replica of the old Mallet steam engine chugged into sight. Treloar stopped it, talked about its history, then backed it into the round house again. He resumed the exhibition of how the ore train worked.

“That little building it’s about to pass right now,” he pointed out as the train neared the mine. “That’s the powder house. That’s where we get the dynamite for the mines. It’s put over there in a remote place so if it blows up it doesn’t get too many of the boys.” Treloar maneuvered the train into place, showed how the ore is dumped into the cars, and then eased the train back onto the main line, destined for points unknown.

“I try to maintain proper speed and make it look as realistic as possible,” said Treloar.

Much of his railroad is still on the drawing board. At one end of the attic, he hopes to build a logging town area, where timbers are cut for the mine operation. He plans to paint the walls with forest scenes and build mountains through which his trains will travel. Underground, the mine tunnels must be developed and then enclosed. Lighting will be installed throughout.

“I’m afraid I won’t ever see it completed,” said Treloar, shutting the powerW down. Like most model railroaders, his dreams are probably bigger than a lifetime can hold.