A crowd emerges from the Palace Theatre, its marquee prominently featuring "The Blob," starring Steve McQueen, just as the sky grows dark and thunder and lightning threaten. People scatter, some to trolleys, some to the underground subway, others to brave a brisk walk across town to the other side of the lake. Suddenly, it starts to rain.
In reality, these folks have nothing to fret about. You see, they are
really just figures barely over an inch tall, part of a remarkable model
train layout on the second floor of Merchants Square Mall in Allentown.
The movie theater, the lake, the trains — even the rainstorm — are part
of an exhibit so real, they will amaze both child and adult.
This is a marvelous, miniature HO scale and "O" Gauge-sized world, covering 7,000 square feet of space and more than three miles of track. There are 40 trains — including underground subways, elevated trains, trolleys, steam engines and diesels — as well as operating amusement parks, more than 1,000 illuminated structures and a whole lot more.
Overhead, thousands of stars glow in the night sky. What impresses the most is that huge 16-foot-wide by 24-foot-long lake in the center, over which thunder roars, lightning flashes and rain falls.
"It's one of the largest model train exhibits on the East Coast, and as far as we know, the only one in the country that has a working thunderstorm and rain over a huge lake," say Mike Roche, owners of Merchants Square Mall. The layout, which took two years to complete, opened July 15, and is now a permanent attraction.
Like a true promoter, Roche calls the model train extravaganza the "Eighth Wonder of the World." Hyperbole or not, it's quite a show. It was built by a volunteer team of five model train enthusiasts under the leadership of Joe Kean of Nazareth, a model train fanatic for most of his 73 years. Kean, a retired priest, had previously built model train displays for the Pocono Museum Unlimited in Lehighton and the Hooven Mercantile Co. Museum in Jim Thorpe.
"When the owner of Pocono museum sold the property 12 years ago, Kean started looking for a new location to move the exhibit, and an opportunity to turn it into what he calls the greatest model train layout he ever built," Roche says. "He had gone to numerous warehouses and businesses, but couldn't find a landlord who'd work with him. When he approached me and told me the size of the display he was planning, I was amazed. When he showed me photos of what he'd done in Jim Thorpe, I was absolutely certain I wanted him to build this thing here."
Roche gave Kean (who declined to be interviewed) more space than he had ever had, in a 10,000-square-foot room on the second floor of the mall that had been used for storage. Upon entering the space, one first sees the control station, manned by a single engineer. There are racks of transformers, power supplies, countless switches, and rows of tape recorders and sound effects devices.
This is a marvelous, miniature HO scale and "O" Gauge-sized world, covering 7,000 square feet of space and more than three miles of track. There are 40 trains — including underground subways, elevated trains, trolleys, steam engines and diesels — as well as operating amusement parks, more than 1,000 illuminated structures and a whole lot more.
Overhead, thousands of stars glow in the night sky. What impresses the most is that huge 16-foot-wide by 24-foot-long lake in the center, over which thunder roars, lightning flashes and rain falls.
"It's one of the largest model train exhibits on the East Coast, and as far as we know, the only one in the country that has a working thunderstorm and rain over a huge lake," say Mike Roche, owners of Merchants Square Mall. The layout, which took two years to complete, opened July 15, and is now a permanent attraction.
Like a true promoter, Roche calls the model train extravaganza the "Eighth Wonder of the World." Hyperbole or not, it's quite a show. It was built by a volunteer team of five model train enthusiasts under the leadership of Joe Kean of Nazareth, a model train fanatic for most of his 73 years. Kean, a retired priest, had previously built model train displays for the Pocono Museum Unlimited in Lehighton and the Hooven Mercantile Co. Museum in Jim Thorpe.
"When the owner of Pocono museum sold the property 12 years ago, Kean started looking for a new location to move the exhibit, and an opportunity to turn it into what he calls the greatest model train layout he ever built," Roche says. "He had gone to numerous warehouses and businesses, but couldn't find a landlord who'd work with him. When he approached me and told me the size of the display he was planning, I was amazed. When he showed me photos of what he'd done in Jim Thorpe, I was absolutely certain I wanted him to build this thing here."
Roche gave Kean (who declined to be interviewed) more space than he had ever had, in a 10,000-square-foot room on the second floor of the mall that had been used for storage. Upon entering the space, one first sees the control station, manned by a single engineer. There are racks of transformers, power supplies, countless switches, and rows of tape recorders and sound effects devices.
The layout is divided into three sections, each featuring a different
environment. The HO scale layout features scale models of the Empire
State Building, the PPL building and an amusement park with a dozen
working rides.
There's an ice skating rink with tiny moving skaters, and even bumper cars that jitterbug around the course. In a far corner is an "O" Gauge layout dominated by Snow Mountain, a ski resort complete with working lifts, gondolas and skiers. The large central layout, also "O" Gauge, holds the lake, surrounded by illuminated skyscrapers, bridges and many other structures.
"What's amazing is the detail. Everything in the room is done to perfect scale," Roche says. "Joe is one of those guys whose life is dedicated to his hobby. He's been working on this Monday through Thursday for two years. He has no wife, no kids — this is his enjoyment." Roadside America in Shartlesville, which Kean helped construct many years ago, might be charmingly kitschy, but doesn't have the level of detail of this layout.
Unlike Roadside America, all the figures, vehicles, buildings, and even lost dogs in each section remain true to scale — the HO layouts are 1/83 scale, the "O" Gauge layouts are 1/43 to 1/48 scale.
Like any great work of art, each time the display is viewed, something new is bound to be discovered. Consider, for example, the 67 working amusement park rides in the large "O" Gauge central section. There's a working Cyclone roller coaster (made of wood, of course, just like the Coney Island original), a parachute jump and a tilt-a-whirl. Dazzling miniatures include Brooklyn's Ebbets Field, Berlinsville's Becky's Drive-In with a real movie showing (when I visited, it was a kid's cartoon), a hardware store robbery in progress, and four subway trains which run underground and stop at stations visible through clear plastic panels.
There's an ice skating rink with tiny moving skaters, and even bumper cars that jitterbug around the course. In a far corner is an "O" Gauge layout dominated by Snow Mountain, a ski resort complete with working lifts, gondolas and skiers. The large central layout, also "O" Gauge, holds the lake, surrounded by illuminated skyscrapers, bridges and many other structures.
"What's amazing is the detail. Everything in the room is done to perfect scale," Roche says. "Joe is one of those guys whose life is dedicated to his hobby. He's been working on this Monday through Thursday for two years. He has no wife, no kids — this is his enjoyment." Roadside America in Shartlesville, which Kean helped construct many years ago, might be charmingly kitschy, but doesn't have the level of detail of this layout.
Unlike Roadside America, all the figures, vehicles, buildings, and even lost dogs in each section remain true to scale — the HO layouts are 1/83 scale, the "O" Gauge layouts are 1/43 to 1/48 scale.
Like any great work of art, each time the display is viewed, something new is bound to be discovered. Consider, for example, the 67 working amusement park rides in the large "O" Gauge central section. There's a working Cyclone roller coaster (made of wood, of course, just like the Coney Island original), a parachute jump and a tilt-a-whirl. Dazzling miniatures include Brooklyn's Ebbets Field, Berlinsville's Becky's Drive-In with a real movie showing (when I visited, it was a kid's cartoon), a hardware store robbery in progress, and four subway trains which run underground and stop at stations visible through clear plastic panels.
Railroad fans will marvel at the rail lines represented, which include
Lehigh Valley, Jersey Central, Pennsylvania Railroad, New Haven
Railroad, Amtrak and SEPTA. There's an enormous railroad yard complete
with roundhouse, turntable and engine maintenance complex. Roche says
that more than 75 pounds of kitty litter was required for the simulated
track ballast. It takes 7,060 pounds of water to fill the "lake."
Kids will absolutely love the show — smaller ones can stand on one of the many movable lightweight step stools. In fact, there's so much detail to entertain them, Roche is thinking of offering kids something along the lines of a "Where's Waldo?" contest for those who can locate, say, the Ford dealership, the subway graffiti, the hardware store robbery or the Greek Orthodox church. The display has many churches of all denominations, perhaps reflecting Kean's original calling.
Kids will absolutely love the show — smaller ones can stand on one of the many movable lightweight step stools. In fact, there's so much detail to entertain them, Roche is thinking of offering kids something along the lines of a "Where's Waldo?" contest for those who can locate, say, the Ford dealership, the subway graffiti, the hardware store robbery or the Greek Orthodox church. The display has many churches of all denominations, perhaps reflecting Kean's original calling.
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