Rumbling around the bend is the sound of a Washington-based organization calling “all aboard” for a celebration this weekend.

The Washington Railroad Historical Society is marking its 30th anniversary with an open house at their museum located across from the Washington Community Center on the Washington County Fairgrounds. The society meets twice a month to work on model railroad installations though it took a few years until they found their home at the fairgrounds. It was also a memorable summer putting the museum together during the infamous floods of 1993. Precision to detail and creativity are qualities found in the society’s members, from building recreations of real-life Iowa towns to installing functioning lights in miniature cars and street lamps. Using Chick Grit to mimic gravel along the railroads is another clever hack President Gene Carpenter points out, “There were two guys that never built a mountain in their life, built that mountain over there and they made it from old screen doors and windows, and some plaster and some trees and they’ve got a plastic castle somewhere on the top of the mountain. Whatever works, you get as creative as you want to be.”

While they’ve hosted public events in the past and are always open during the county fair, Carpenter says not even the railroad crossing pole that’s installed outside their white building frequently attracts newcomers, “Every year we’re here at the fair, they come out and they say, ‘Didn’t know you were here.’ ‘Well, we’ve only been about here 20 years, wow, you still don’t know that we’re here.’ We need the people of Washington to find out we’re here.”

The 30th anniversary open house will be held from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. this Saturday and Sunday with refreshments to be served and a chance to talk to the society members about their models and learn how to join. A free model railroad show is also being held in conjunction with the event during the same time at the Washington Knights of Columbus Hall. You can hear more about the society in today’s Halcyon House Washington Page.