Handmade Magic
HARMONY — For the past 50 years, Ronald Eckstein has set up and gradually added to the model railroad display his father-in-law started in 1936.
The Christmas display features eight log cabins, a model train, a trolley and handcrafted trees and sleds sitting on sparkling snow made of white sand.
A Christmas tree looms over a Nativity scene, while mill workers stand frozen beside a miniature mountain. A steam locomotive circles the 5-by-8-foot display.
A holiday tradition in Eckstein's Forward Township home since 1956, the display now sits in the Harmony Museum. There Eckstein, 79, hopes other families can enjoy its meticulous construction.
The cabins are made from sticks: Look closely and you can see three nails securing each stick making up the cabins' roofs.
The wagon parked in a barn has wheels carved with an X-acto knife from a single piece of wood. The barn sits on a foundation carved from real sandstone.
These are examples of the craftsmanship of William Yobp of New Kensington, who built the cabins, barn and church in the 1930s and '40s.
He worked on them every evening from October until Christmas Eve each year. In a museum press release, his wife, Edith, notes he took a break each Thursday, on bowling night.
Yobp became Eckstein's father-in-law when Eckstein married his first wife, Lyda Lee. Yobp left five of the log cabins to her, and the display continued in the Eckstein family when Lyda died in 1974, Eckstein said.
"I was very pleased with the fact Bill (Yobp) let me add to his work," said Eckstein.
After Eckstein said he was interested in using Yobp's buildings for a model railroad platform, Yobp built him a mill for the display.
Eckstein continued Yobp's tradition of craftsmanship. He chose the train to fit with the time period the log cabins suggest, and said he scoured the woods behind his home to find the branches to represent trees.
Eckstein built the platform in the 1950s for his O-27 gauge Lionel train and trolley. The train is a model of The Western & Atlantic Railroad train pulled by "The General," a steam locomotive that ran between Georgia and Tennessee during the Civil War before it was stolen by Northern spies.
"It fit with the period of the houses, the time frame of the scene," said Eckstein.
Over the years, Eckstein added to the display each year with trees, fences and figurines. Some figurines are from Yobp's original display.
It became a Christmas tradition for Eckstein to set up the display each Christmas Eve. "I would stay up to 3 or 4 in the morning, setting that up. After a while, that got really old," he said, laughing.
His second wife, Idamarie, said the whole family has added to the display over the years. Their children have helped with wiring and spreading the sand to make snow.
"The kids are all going to see it at the museum soon, they're looking forward to it," she said.
Last year, it became too much work to set up the display, and Eckstein thought of giving it to the museum. "I didn't want it sitting in a box somewhere," he said.After checking with family members, he made the donation. He is proud it can be on display. "I think anybody that ever saw it thought it was really nice."The display also honors Yobp, who died in 1973. A small placard on the church steeple reads "William E. Yobp, mason, builder, designer, 1936."Since opening on Nov. 11 as part of the museum's German Christmas celebration, the model has been a popular attraction."People call up and ask if it's still on display. They're excited to see it," said Kathy Luek, the museum administrator. "Families with children come in here, they like to see it running."She said the display, which will be part of the museum tour until early January, will likely be an annual exhibit.Visitors can even play the game Mr. and Mrs. Eckstein played with their children each Christmas — each year they moved a miniature skunk to another section of the display, said Luek.So, if you happen to visit the display, see if you can find the skunk.
<B>WHAT: </B>Model railroad display<B>WHERE: </B>Historic Harmony Museum, corner of Main and Mercer streets in Harmony<B>WHEN: </B>Open from 1 to 4 p.m. daily except Mondays and holidays. Model on display until early January<B>COST: </B>Full museum tours are $5 for adults, $4 for seniors, $2 for children ages 6 to 12 and free for children under 6.
