A model railroad full of Down East history is heading down the tracks to southern Maine – Press Herald

Harold Beal loved few things more than perching on a stool while he ran trains for folks who stopped by his Jonesport home to see his elaborate and intricately detailed model railroad display.

The Maine Central Railroad cars wended their way over bridges and through tunnels, from the West Quoddy Head Lighthouse to the western mountains. They traveled past paper mills, downtown streetscapes, and tiny replicas of author Stephen Kings Bangor home and the tidy blue house where Beal and his wife, Helen, spent 20 years building their diorama of Down East Maine.

He loved to see the expression on their face when theyd come through the door, Helen Beal said of her husband, who died in 2012 at age 75. A lot of people would almost holler. Some people would say Oh my word and I cant believe this. The expression on their faces, most of the time it was a big smile.

The model railroad display is believed to be one of the largest in Maine built in HO scale (which is 1:87, or 3.5 mm to 1 foot), but it has not been on public display for the last few years. That will change when it is moved to the Seashore Trolley Museum in Kennebunkport, which will construct a new building for the display of the coupleshundreds of buildings and more than 400 train cars and engines.

The acquisition is a unique one for the 82-year-old museum, which specializes in preserving and restoring trolley cars. The fact that it is happening at all is attributed to the unique bond of rail enthusiasts and a bold move by the museum to ask for financial help to make the move possible.

A BENEFACTOR STEPS IN

The Wyss Foundation, a private charitable foundation based in Washington D.C. dedicated to empowering communities and strengthening connections to the land, will give the museum an estimated $2.6 million to pay for the new building, relocating the model railroad and 10 years of operating costs. It is the largest gift the museum has ever received.

The unlikely connection to the Wyss Foundation came through Hansjrg Wyss, a Swiss billionaire businessman who started the foundation and lives in Wyoming. Years ago, he was driving through Maine on his way to Canada and stopped to visit the railroad display after spotting a sign near the Beal home.

Like many visitors, Wyss was wowed by the layout and became friendly with the Beals.

Harold Buz Beal was born and raised in Jonesport, then served 26 years in the Coast Guard. After retiring as a chief boatswains mate, he went to work at Dexter Shoe Co., where he met Helen. Both came from railroad families: Her father and two brothers worked for Bangor and Aroostook Railroad; his grandfather worked on the Canadian Pacific Railway.

We sure had train blood in us, said Helen Beal, who will turn 88 next month.

After they settled back in Jonesport, the Beals decided to try their hand at building a model railroad layout together. He had built one at age 12 and she had wanted one since she was a child. They recruited his nephew, Harry Fish, to help with the wiring. But Harold Beal didnt like how their first try turned out and scrapped it.

BUILDING DOWNEAST MAINE

They started over again, and Helen Beal said she never imagined their model would grow to fill anoutbuilding next to their home on the outskirts of the Washington County fishing village. They spent countless hours together in their den constructing small buildings from basswood, modeling many after post offices and train stations that Harold photographed in Bangor, Jonesport, Machias and other towns in Down East Maine. He painted the interior walls of the outbuilding with landscapes to complement the train display.

Helen Beal said she didnt think people would be that interested in their model, but they opened their doors anyway. They put up signs near their home and their display was later featured in magazines and visitor guides. Each summer they were open, 75 to 80 people would stop by to watch Harold Beal run the trains. Visitors filled three guestbooks with their signatures and pinned their hometowns on a world map hung on the wall.

Oh dear Lord, weve had visitors even from Africa, Germany, Russia, all over the place, she said. They never charged admission, but accepted donations to help cover the cost of heating the building.

Helen Beal continued to run the trains for visitors for a few summers after her husband died, but she wanted to find a new permanent home for the display so it would be preserved for others to enjoy. The family tried to find a museum or club that could take the model railroad, but at 40 feet by 50 feet it was too big for any of the organizations to handle.

Thats when Wyss, who had stayed in touch with Helen Beal, stepped in to help and told a fellow rail enthusiast about the situation. Years before, his friend had commissioned the Seashore Trolley Museum to build a replica of a trolley car for his estate in Florida. He suggested Wyss reach out to the museum.

ITS NOT JUST ABOUT THE TRAINS

Like those other groups, the Seashore Trolley Museum didnt have enough available space to display the model railroad the museum is already short of space for its current collection. But the museums leaders were intrigued by the possibility of bringing in the Beals display. They spent months researching how they could move the layout while keeping it mostly intact, and what type of structure they would need to house such an artifact.

It was quite an opportunity, said Jim Schantz, the museums president and CEO. We think it adds another major attraction to the museum. People come to see and ride full-scale trolleys. We think people find model railroads really interesting, especially one like this with a great deal of accuracy put into the Maine features.

Herb Fremin, an architect and friend of the museum, designed a building to display the model train that includes a workshop, conference room, retail shop and a mezzanine viewing gallery that could be used for community programs. He also spent time figuring out how to adapt the model to meet local building codes and make sure the facility would comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. The museum has since hired a construction manager, Steve Berg, to navigate the construction process.

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A model railroad full of Down East history is heading down the tracks to southern Maine - Press Herald