The Shadow
CLIFTON FORGE — The C&O Historical Society is gearing up for its annual fundraising event, the 2020 George Washington Train Show.
The event will take place at the Clifton Forge Armory at 724 Commercial Ave. and the C&O Railway Heritage Center at 705 E. Main St.
The dates are Saturday, Feb. 15, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sunday, Feb 16, from 12 noon to 4 p.m.
Admission is $5 and includes entrance to the C&O Railway Heritage Center/Museum.
There will be a diverse selection of vendors, which will include all scales of models, railroad memorabilia and antiques, and authors available for signing, selling, and discussion of their books.
Mickey Cash, an antique vendor and C&O Historical Society member, will be giving free railroad antique appraisals.
At the Heritage Center, C&OHS O Scale layout team leaders Scott Cyrus, Nick Marakovits and Jeremy Ferrell from West Virginia will be present. They will be running the museum’s model layout of the C&O Railway’s route and showcasing equipment representative of the 1940s through the Chessie System era.
Additionally, they will be joined by guests from the Appalachian Model Railroad Society in Ashland, Ky.
Also at the Heritage Center, author Thomas W. Dixon and illustrator Natalie O’Dell will be on hand from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. for the first-ever author/artist book signing of the C&OHS’ history-making children’s book, “Chessie Takes a Train Trip.”
The just-published storybook has introduced Chessie the Railroad Kitten to a new generation and this event is the first time author and artist have been together for a joint signing since the book’s release.
The newly-formed C&OHS T-Trak modular group will be holding their first-ever showcasing of members’ modules from several states at the Clifton Forge armory, including C&OHS member Craig Laing’s detailed module of Prince, W.Va., and C&OHS member Doug Andre’s new module of Nuttall in the New River Gorge.
This rapidly-expanding group for N-scale modelers continues to gain traction and wishes to educate additional C&O modelers of N-scale of the possibilities of T-Trak and how modules can be combined during shows to form large layouts.
C&OHS member and crowd favorite Dale Perry will also be present at the armory with his N?Scale layout. He will also be offering hands-on demonstrations.
Come see a variety of specially-imported Kato passenger sets running throughout the day and hear industry information first hand as Dale demonstrates his catalog of N Scale equipment for visitors of all ages.
Also, West Virginia Operation Life Saver will have a display at the Heritage Center.
The C&O Railway Heritage Center features a full historical museum with an O Scale layout, railroad car exhibits, a 7-½” gauge ride-on-train, and more.———————————————————————————————————————The C&O Historical Society is gearing up for its annual fundraising event, the George Washington Train Show. The show will be held Saturday, Feb. 15, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday, Feb. 16, from 12 noon to 4 p.m at the Clifton Forge Armory and at the C&O Railway Heritage Center. (Photo Courtesy C&O Historical Society)
