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Date: 7/11/2023
SPRINGFIELD — All aboard for a fun filled weekend as Kids on Track, a model railroading job fair, returns to Union Station.
The free event — sponsored by the Amherst Railway Society and Springfield Union Station — will take place on July 22 and 23 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Amherst Railway Society Marketing and Communications Director Gregory Maas explained the idea behind the event. “It gives kids the opportunity to run trains,” he shared.
Over the years, Maas said the organization has visited several shows around New England and while it is “fun to watch the trains run,” he believes it “takes it to a new level” when people can run the trains themselves.
The second piece of the program — and its hopeful growth in the future — is to incorporate the program into middle school and high school education. Maas said he sees a “direct parallel” between model railroading and robotics, as they are both digital and require programming.
“Kids on Track is an emerging national effort by the model railroad industry to encourage young modelers and link model railroading to [science, technology, engineering and math] education,” he explained.
“Interest in model railroads have not diminished,” Maas said. “Older generation people like me started with model railroads by getting a [railroad] set for Christmas [or a] birthday.” Now, he said, people develop an interest in it by watching Thomas the Train or playing with train Lego sets, for example. Kids on Track aims to “spark” that interest even more, he shared.
When the event first took place in 2022, Maas recalled the large crowd it attracted. “There were enough people to do it again,” he said. The inauguration served as an experiment to gauge the level of interest, and the responses from visitors and exhibitors were positive, Maas noted.
To attract even more people this year, the organization has upped the marketing.
“Union Station loved the idea of [the event] taking place at the concourse,” as the refurbished station also houses office, retail and restaurant space, Maas shared.
He acknowledged Union Station for doing a “nice job” in hosting this event. Although admission is free, there is a $2 charge for event parking in the Union Station parking garage on Main Street.
Additions to the event include “Maggie the Railroad Clown” who will be making balloon animals for the children.
Advance registration is not required to attend the event.
For more information on the Amherst Railway Society and the Kids on Track program, visit amherstrail.org.