A big crowd attended the launch of the Berwick Town Model Railroad on Oct. 12 in the Studio at Berwick Parksville.
“When first approached, I was eager to encourage this activity, loving the idea of the group bonding together both socially and creatively," said General Manager Nick Lynch. "They have done a magnificent job.”
Jeannine Krefting, Active Living Manager, introduced Peter Hall, who blew the railway whistle and introduced the other members of the board: Ron Woodward, Lorne Klippert, Joe Currie, Terry Kellam and Wayne Stewart. He commented that he had never seen this amount of detail and that Lorne was the main architect, wanting everything to be perfect.
Back in August 2023, a group of residents at Berwick Parksville were sitting chatting and wondering how they could spend their time as Peter Hall had been asked by Active Living to come up with an activity specifically for male residents, to have ready as a Christmas scene for display.
At first the group considered model boats, as Peter had experience building some, but Peter got a call from a friend, who had a friend, Rudy Van Dyk, in Campbell River, who had some HO model railroad equipment to start a model railroad.
In discussion with the group, it was decided to explore this offer further. They took it apart and started building a permanent model. The equipment came with controls, cars, benches, buildings and people. The group had to buy track and texture base materials. Lorne insisted there should be a church and he also did most of the research when it came to buying what was needed. The background for the B.C.-like mountain scene came from Australia.
Peter has built three model railways but says “this was the most detailed.” The only other member with experience was Wayne Stewart, who also worked for CP Rail.
“It was like becoming a kid again and knowing why I retired,” he said.
The group decided to call the town Berwick and so the Berwick Model Railroad Town was born, built on a 4x8 sheet of plywood.
Lorne gathered grass clippings for the grass in town and compared paint colours of both sidewalk and roads, using sandpaper for road texture and mixing paint like greyed asphalt, to be truly authentic.
“I am thankful to Active Living for the use of the studio to meet once a week and work on the town,” he said.
What came across in interviewing all six men, was the sense of camaraderie this project gave them. “Building together and seeing the creation was very satisfying,” Joe said, with Terry adding that “it was great to see everyone agreeing on how to proceed and the ability to work together.” And for Ron, “The joy was in the building of Berwick Town together.”
The studio is new for Berwick and it's incredible to see it being used for more than just a “craft space” but a place where everyone can reconnect with old and new hobbies.
Come down to Berwick Parksville open house and annual Craft Marketplace with Santa on Saturday, Nov. 30 from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m., where Peter will computer operate the trains and you can view at the Berwick Town Model Railroad and much more!