Trains exhibited among planes at the Museum of Aviation in Warner Robins

WARNER ROBINS -- From her grandfather's shoulders, Kyla Bellamy watched with wide eyes as locomotives traveled 10 miles of tracks that winded through country and city, passing through pastures, circuses and drive-in movies.

"This little girl loves trains," Frank Bellamy said of his granddaughter, who is 2. "We got her two trains at the house. They're toy trains. She's just fascinated with them. They'll go off the tracks, and she'll put them back on."

The pair visited the Century of Flight building at the Museum of Aviation on Monday morning, where the Middle Georgia Model Railroad Club is showcasing some of its club members' elaborate models this week. The exhibit is free and open to the public. It is open daily from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. through Nov. 29 but will close for Thanksgiving.

Bellamy, of Perry, said he'd never been to the event and thought his granddaughter, who lives in Statesboro, would enjoy it.

"I think it's neat," he said of the annual exhibit. "It's for kids, but it's still neat."

Ed Trust, a 61-year-old club member who retired from the U.S. Air Force, became interested in model trains at the age of 7. More than 50 years later, Trust still enjoys the hobby.

"My father bought me an HO scale layout, and we put that on a 4-foot by 4-foot board, and it just had one loop around it," Trust said. "Eventually, I ended up sticking in a switch, and it kind of grew from there."

Trust, who grew up in Laredo, Texas, said his love for trains stems partially from spending Saturdays in his youth at work with his father, who evaluated and appraised goods from Mexico as a U.S. Customs and Border Protection employee. Building the models "gives you the opportunity to imagine it in your head and then go from there," Trust said.

"It's a hobby that you really say, 'I'm never ever finished with it.' And you just kind of keep on adding on fine detail," Trust said. "It's kind of what's left up to the imagination. You can kind of add in whatever you want to do with it."

A homeless camp, bears coming out of hibernation, people climbing out of trunks after sneaking in to a drive-in movie are a few scenes for people to spot.

David Coulter of Bonaire brought his children, ages 11 and 6, to see the exhibit for the third straight year.

"It's a way to kill a few hours for free and do something fun ... while the kids are out of school," Coulter said. "My son could stay all day here. He just loves watching the trains go around and all the different little set pieces they have."

Jack Copeland, vice president of the club, used an app on his cell phone to control two trains.

"This is not your grandfather's trains where you have the old-fashioned power pack and you either went slow or you went fast," Copeland said. "This is a computer network that looks like a model railroad."

Up to 12 trains, each with its own microchip, can be steered on a track using digital command control, Copeland said. However, he said most can only manage a couple of locomotives at a time.

The exhibit is located in the Century of Flight building and has been featured at the museum annually since 2008.

"This is our time as adults to get to be children for a week, so come out and play with us," Copeland said. "Usually from a week long event here we'll find one or two people in the area who didn't know there was a model railroad club. ... We're looking for new club members."

The club, formed in the 1970s, has about 30 members who meet at IHOP on Watson Boulevard at 7:30 p.m. the third Tuesday of each month except November and December. For more information, email info@mgmrc.org.

To contact writer Laura Corley, call 744-4334 or follow her on Twitter @Lauraecor.

This story was originally published November 23, 2015 at 5:20 PM with the headline "Trains exhibited among planes at the Museum of Aviation in Warner Robins."