There is a precision to Mark Clemmens’ work as he draws up the manifest.

In the old days of steam, engineers and depot foremen drew on years of smoky shunting to collaborate, moving heavy loads around the yard, shifting points, dropping off and picking up cars with efficiency.

Now a laptop computer program prints the train drivers’ instructions onto an 8-inch clipboard. Bud Lather and George Normandin follow them assiduously — but on a smaller scale.

They are members of the Peninsula Model Railroad Club. Instead of risking limbs to separate carriages, they poke connecting mechanisms with narrow dowel rods. Five-inch long steam trains chug along tracks about one-inch wide, past feed-and-seed buildings with exotic town names like Ohanapecosh, a donation from a neighboring club.

“This is just cool” Normandin says, looking down on the chest-high frames that contain the HO-gauge rail layout. “I have always liked the older logging trains. I used to ride them and stop and look at them.”

He holds a modern controller wider than a TV remote that plugs into the side of the frame of the layout with a phone jack; after forward and reverse, its most-thumbed key, inevitably, is the horn.

Clamshell

The club meets year-round to run their trains and refine layouts. Members are gearing up to share their passion with visitors to Clamshell Railroad Days at the Columbia Pacific Heritage Museum at 115 Lake St. S.E, in Ilwaco.

Layouts will be available for viewing 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. July 19 and 20. Admission is $5 for a souvenir pin, which allows entry both days, and raises funds for the museum, which usually has free admission.

The railcar Nahcotta, the museum’s largest exhibit, will be open for visitors to climb aboard during the weekend. Members of the museum’s collection department will talk about the railcar and its preservation.

Other displays

More than one group of miniature railroaders will participate.

As well as the Peninsula Model Railroad Club, fellow enthusiasts include the Mount Rainer N-scale club, the Pacific Northwest ON30 Club, the Longview-Kelso N-scale layout and the Portland Z-scale group.

“We have people coming from Whidbey Island and Seattle,” said Clemmens. “We will have that main gallery room completely full.”

The other attraction is Dean and Donna Mead’s Lego train.

Dean Mead never tires of describing how sons David and Dustin began his layout in 1991. “They gave me a Lego train and one house and another house and in 30 years you have a whole city!”

He knows they and their regular helper, Will Kulm, provide a valuable service — to adults. 

“The fathers and mothers pack their kids off to the Lego train and go see the rest of displays,” Mead said.

Robert Thompson of Naselle loves that moment. “It is fun to see them come in, and when they show them, the kids always want to run it. They want to flick switches and push buttons and try everything — it’s the one train that the kids can run themselves.”

Real

Thompson’s interest began in a region with a rich railroad history. “I liked trains when I was a little boy,” he said. “We lived in Ohio, and they had a big steam engine. Dad took me to see it. I climbed all over that thing! Dad had to keep an eye that I was not taking stuff away.”

Though decades have passed, his fascination continues, and his 3-D printer proves useful to create parts for layouts.

During an evening practice run, the familiar chugging of the train’s mechanisms and the whistles echo through an outbuilding where they practice their hobby in preparation for the weekend show.

Clemmens smiles when the authentic-sounding noises are mentioned.

“That’s what it’s all about — pretending it’s real.”

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Clamshell Railroad Days

Peninsula Model Railroad Club and other groups

Columbia Pacific Heritage Museum, 115 Lake St. S.E, in Ilwaco

10 a.m. to 4 p.m. July 19 and 20.

Admission, $5, valid for both days, includes souvenir pin; children under 12, free. Railcar Nahcotta is open to tour both days.