ARGILLITE — In this crowd there’s no denying the call of a lonesome train.

The interests at the 26th annual Tri-State Model Railroad Show at Greenbo Lake State Resort Park ranged from cross-country connections to short lines and spurs, with more than a few lessons in local history and the formation of a nation. A majority of those at the event claimed a family to connection to railroads and a lifelong fascination with things that run on rails.

“Growing up my dad was a railroad man and it’s always fascinated me,” said Denise Harris of Catlettsburg while riding a shuttle to the show with her husband, Clay.

“Well, I used to hobo on them,” he said with a grin, confessing he once made a habit if riding trains between the Ashland area and Radcliff, Va., during his school days.

The couple said they’ve recently started working on a new model train layout, and were especially interested in finding items related to the Virginian which ran between Blacksburg and Bluefield. A few hours later, they were seen heading back to their vehicle with smiles on their faces and a bag of railroad memorabilia that fit their needs.

John and Tracy Sharp waited for a chance to ride the trains, navigating a 11/2-inch wide track on the hill above the park’s lodge along with their son, Lukas, and daughter, Emily. Sharp was excited to have learned he has three switchlocks and original keys saved by his grandfather, also named John Sharp, from the Solvay plant in Ironton.

“He ran a couple of the engines there,” Sharp said, adding he remembers his grandfather and others telling stories about railroad engineers and workers tossing nickels or even sandwiches to children along the tracks around the time of the Great Depression.

While their daughter isn’t particularly train crazy, Lukas is. His mother laughs and has her husband tell the story of their son asleep in church. The little boy’s dad said Lukas had fallen asleep during a service in Kenova, when a train went by a few blocks away.

“He had been dead asleep. When the train hit the horn he sat straight up and said ‘train’ and was right back out,” he said laughing.

The Sharps had their railroad interest sparked by a visit to last year’s railroad show at Greenbo, and have since combined three tracks to create their own layout. Sharp said they are particularly interested in the DT&I train that Henry Ford used to haul iron between Detroit, Toledo and Ironton.

Three-year-old Britton Hammonds perched on the shoulders of his dad, Matthew, after taking a ride on the reduced-size steam train.

“I liked the green train but I didn’t like the black train. I was scared on that one,” he said, explaining with a whistle in his dad’s ear that he didn’t like the sound of the black train’s horn.

Matthew said his grandfather, Otto Hammonds, was a railroad man who used to split trees in the Louisa area along with his dad, Danny, to make railroad ties. An unexpected surprise from the show, Hammonds said he discovered his family has an old railroad lantern worth a couple of hundred bucks.

Thomas Bookout and Bill Randall were among the crowd from Lexington taking turns operating the different trains owned by Joe Holbrook and Don Saager and providing rides to young and old alike. Holbrook said his motivation for the hard work involved in operating even a small railroad comes from those who appreciate the trains.

“Look at these smiley faces — especially the big kids,” Holbrook said, gesturing toward the short line of passengers waiting for a ride to the far end of the parking lot and back. Many of their passengers are veteran railroad engineers who are often invited to take a turn driving, which Holbrook said seems to be appreciated greatly. “And the joy it brings to the little folks just goes without saying.”

Inside the lodge, enthusiasts and vendors offered items for sale or exhibit, reflecting an incredibly wide range of railroad interests from mechanical function to form, design and photography. Old railroad lanterns of all types were offered for sale at nearly every table, alongside model engines, box cars and the tools used by railroad workers, including an “order hook” used to pass papers up from the ground to the engineer. One of the show’s organizers, Dale Smith, said they typically have visitors from 12 to 14 different states and seemed quite proud to say the event “is the only free model train show in the country,” with no hidden fees for parking or any other aspect of the gathering.

Gene Bush of Winfield was in full gear and character as he made his way through the crowd as a friendly hobo named Hopper. The hobo, who is known to hitch rides on the New River Train, said his job is simple: “Make kids of all ages laugh.” Bush said he had two uncles who worked the railroad back when steam engines ruled the tracks, and he spent six months working as part of a “gang” laying railroad tracks. Even though he was 18 years old and tough at the time, he said it was the hardest labor he can remember.

“”All that work is done by machines now,” he said.

Hobos, Bush said, also hold a special place in his heart.

“They were the most honest people you could get,” he said, explaining his family had a garden near the train tracks, but the hobos who got off at their farm would always knock on the door ask for something rather than simply raiding the garden for whatever they could take. “My mom also made sandwiches for them and they would never forget it.”

The hobo’s appearance caused railroad enthusiast Barry Cremeans of Salt Rock, W.Va. to remember sharing a meal of Hobo Stew with some men who had been riding the rails and took a break by the tracks in Guyandotte.

“It was the best thing I ever ate,” he recalled.

Downstairs in the lodge, a trio of “20-somethings” made up of Chris McGuffin, Billy Bryant and Donnie Weaver added details to a large layout that had originally been built by Al Greenstein of Huntington during the 1960s. The parts had been dismantled and adopted for a new design by some of the younger members of the Collis P. Huntington Railroad Historical Society. McGuffin said they were anxious for Greenstein’s arrival to get his opinion of the nearlyfinished renovation job, before Bryant added he wonders what sort of reaction they’ll get for the graffiti they added at the end of a tunnel.

“Many purists think graffiti is not artful,” he said, explaining the graffiti actually provides the names of the people who’ve been involved in rebuilding the layout. McGuffin said they encourage anyone with an interest in model building to join them to share their interests and skills.

In the next room, members of the Shuman family of Parkersburg took turns driving the trains of their sophisticated layout, while a dozen youngsters merrily putted plastic trains along a snap-together track on the floor. Rob Shuman and his son, Levi, 9, said their railroad interest started out with simple aspirations.

“We started this out for my two boys to build a layout and it has turned into a family affair with my brothers,” Shuman said, later joking they often question which one of them was responsible for getting them so deeply involved in the pursuit.

“It’s a good hobby gone bad,” he said, laughing.

Levi Shuman, self-proclaimed “road foreman” for the family railroad, said his favorite aspect of the hobby is “actually running the trains.”

“We work on it month after month and then we take a break,” he said, explaining he is proficient at many aspects of the family rails and takes it as his personal responsibility to guarantee the safety of their operation.

Waiting for a shuttle to take them back down the hill, Barry and Anita Grim and David Munroe, all of Cannonsburg said they didn’t get too carried away with their purchases, but did spend more than $200 for a basic train layout and a print of a train in snow by artist Brenda Salyers.

Mrs. Grim said their family connection to railroads comes from Gerald Munroe, who collected Lionel trains, and her Uncle Jasper Dunnigan, who was an engineer for C&O Railroad out of Chapmanville, W.Va.

Sonya and Kim Lowe’s twin sons Connor and Alex were still ready for another train ride even though it was time to go.

“Oh, they loved it. They love trains,” their mother said, adding her husband also has a love of Lionel trains. With a set of tracks roughly a quarter mile from their home, the Lowes said both of the 31/2-year-old boys still perk up when they hear an engine coming and run to a window or their fence to watch them pass by.

The show continues from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. today.

TIM PRESTON can be reached at tpreston@dailyindependent.com or at (606) 326-2651.