Over the years, Elliott Scribner has built quite a display of toy trains

By Randy Parks
Burns Times-Herald

Before Wiis, Playstations and Xboxes, before walkie-talkies and remote-controlled cars, before robotic dinosaurs and Transformers, electric trains ruled the toy world.

Christmas wish lists almost always included “a train set,” and more than one Christmas carol boasts of Santa’s bag including toy trains and little toy tracks.

Rather than let those memorable days of toy trains just drift on by, Elliott Scribner of Hines is not only doing his best to keep them alive, but thriving as well.

Inside a building (affectionately called the “barn”) next to his home, Scribner has created a miniature world centered around electric trains.

With the flick of a few switches, Scribner’s holiday village comes to life. There is the clackety-clack of two O Gauge trains making their way through tunnels and around the tracks. The “town’s” buildings are lit, with some emitting music. Animated figures ice skate, ski, take a ride in a horse-drawn sleigh and even make snow angels as the trains pass by on their never-ending voyage.

Scribner said he spends several hours each day in the barn, building new landscapes, repairing or cleaning tracks and train cars or just enjoying his latest creation.

The collection
Scribner said he got his first train in 1949, and he has been hooked on trains ever since.

He stated that his collection didn’t really grow too much during the time he was working steady and raising children, but in the 1970s, he got back into making a serious hobby.

The collection includes trains from as far back as the 1920s and a variety of sizes.

“I like the O Gauge the best,” he said, pointing at his holiday scene. “But I also have a good HO collection. HO means one-half the size of O.”

He has purchased a lot of his trains, traded for others and has even had some given to him. Scribner said he had a friend in Portland who found a train in his attic and gave it to him. “It was wrapped in a 1953 newspaper, and probably played with maybe two or three times. It’s a Lionel train from either 1935 or 36, and it’s in mint condition,” he smiled.

The collection is spread across tables, stacked in cupboards and lined up on shelves. When asked how many cars make up his collection, Scribner let out a whistle and admitted, “I have no clue.”

HO land
On the opposite side of the room from his holiday village, Scribner is in the process of building an impressive HO layout, complete with mountains and bridges. “When you start the train around the track, it takes more than five minutes to complete the loop,” he said.

Scribner builds the entire project by hand, using everything from ceiling tiles and styrofoam to PVC pipe and cardboard.
A variety of figures and vehicles dot the landscape, giving it a real-life feel.

“It’s not close to being done, but that’s the great thing about it,” Scribner said. “There are so many different aspects that one day I can work on building a mountain, then the next day I might feel like repairing the trains.”

The hobby
Scribner is always looking for items to add to his collection, and attends train shows around the state and the West when he can.

He said he may go to a show to sell some of his items, and then buy other collectibles so the collection is always changing.
While it’s obvious that Scribner enjoys his pastime, he would also like to see more people become interested. “It’s a great hobby, especially a father-son hobby,” he said.

To hopefully gain interest in collecting trains, Scribner invites parents and their children to come by his residence and view his collection. Those interested are asked to call Scribner at 573-6765 and set up a time to visit.

“The best part is having a kid that hasn’t seen trains come by, turn off the lights (in the room), and see the smile on their face,” he said.