Free
/LYLQJ /LIH $IWHU
September 2023 /HYYPL[ :[LUUMLSK 0Z (U (J[P]L *O\YJO 4LTILY :LL 7HNL
Allen County Edition Ed E Reaching Fort Wayne And Surrounding Counties
www.seniorlifenewspapers.com
Vol. 36, No. 5 75$,1 0$67(5 $7 &21752/6 ³ (G 5DKQ GLUHFWV WKH PRYHPHQWV RI ÀYH WUDLQV DURXQG KLV +2 JDXJH OD\RXW LQ KLV 2VVLDQ KRPH
) / : . !! 7H[W DQG 3KRWRV %\ 52' .,1* )HDWXUH :ULWHU Ed Rahn is a railroader through and through. Though he never worked on the railroad, he grew up in Huntington, just a few blocks from the Erie Railroad where his father and grandfather worked. His dad was a locomotive engineer and grandfather was chief clerk to the road foreman and train master in the Marion division office. What really hooked him on trains was when his dad invited him to ride in the locomotive on a run to Marion, Ohio, when he was a
third grader. “I’ll never forget that trip,” said Rahn. “He also took my younger brother when he was that age.” Dad built the boys a Lionel train layout that kept them occupied and out of trouble most of the time. Today, Rahn has two operating layouts at his home in Ossian. One is an 8-by-5 1/2 foot HO gauge set-up that can operate five trains at once on several levels. The other is a two-level O gauge Lionel layout on an 11-by-7 foot board. Rahn adds clickty-clacking track sounds, whistles, hissing steam and control tower instructions to give the whole
,16,'( 0$1 ³ 6WDQGLQJ LQVLGH WKH OD\RXW (G 5DKQ FDQ UHDFK DQG FRU UHFW DQ\ WUDLQ SUREOHPV DQG DGG VFHQHU\ DQG EXLOGLQJV WR WKH OD\RXW +H VROG D /LRQHO ORFRPRWLYH ZKHQ KH ZDV \RXQJ WR SXUFKDVH +2 JDXJH WUDLQV EHFDXVH KH FRXOG ÀW PRUH LQ D VPDOOHU VSDFH
...add realism to train layouts operation a touch of realism. He started his first train layout when he was 12 years old. It was a Lionel steam engine, which he still has. “I sold another locomotive years later to buy HO trains because I could get more into a smaller space,” Rahn said. “I still have a soft spot in my heart for Lionel and that is why I built a train board specifically for Lionel. I like all the working accessories that make Lionel special like the watchman, who comes down the steps from the twostory control tower to check the trains as they pass for hot boxes.” He has added operating crossing gates, flashing lights, street lights and a track-side shed where a man with a lantern steps out when the
trains pass. There’s also a trolley car running back and forth on its own track. “There’s lots going on, and it’s fun to watch. My grandkids used to get a kick out of it, but they’re into other things now,” Rahn said. According to Rahn, train layouts are a work in progress. “You can always add more scenery, new track-side buildings, a house or business in the village,” Rahn said. “This is a hobby I still share with my brother, Dennis. He’s a retired Indianapolis police officer. He has a very elaborate layout utilizing the latest computercontrolled technology. He
also sells model train engines, cars and accessories online at Whistles and Growls. My layouts, on the other hand, operate on direct current. It’s strictly old school.” The walls of his man cave/ den/TV room are covered with Erie Railroad train photos Continued on page 3