LEGO, train enthusiasts build extensive exhibit at SD Modern Railroad museum
By Dave Fidlin | SDUN Reporter 
While plastic LEGO construction toys, a staple in toy boxes for generations, have been a delight for children over the years, a current exhibit at the San Diego Model Railroad Museum in Balboa Park is anything but child’s play.
The Southern California LEGO Train Club is displaying a grandiose creation that is meant to replicate a city not too different from San Diego. The entire exhibit – from the towering model skyscrapers down to the most finite details of railroad tracks – was built, piece by piece, by the dedicated group of train and LEGO enthusiasts in the Club.
Club president Ted Michon said the entire effort was a true labor of love for the more than dozen members who exercised creative muscle and tapped into a childlike sense of wonder to create the exhibit at the San Diego Model Railroad Museum, which runs through Jan. 14.
“This is the work of several persons who each worked at home with their own bricks,” Michon said. “Some items were built in a few hours, some took entire summers and some were built multiple times until the designer was satisfied with the results.”
Susan Michon, a Club member, was instrumental in bringing the entire project to fruition. Years ago, she sought feedback from Club members regarding future exhibits. With all of the ideas on the table, the consensus was to create the expansive metropolis that incorporated all of the individual suggestions.
While the Club’s exhibit includes classic features, such as replicas of large train stations, train yards and bridges, there are new elements that have not been incorporated into previous exhibits. A ferry, modeled after one in Hong Kong, is part of the exhibit, as well as new buildings.
Ted Michon said, “Some items were built eight years ago, and some were completed after this event opened,” noting the exhibit remained a work in progress even after its unveiling on Nov. 22.
In recent years, the Southern California LEGO Train Club and San Diego Model Railroad Museum have developed a close working relationship. The current LEGO display is the Club’s 10th annual winter exhibit at the museum.
“We do from two to eight shows a year,” Ted Michon said of the Club’s exhibits, which are on display at a variety of venues in southern California.
The Balboa Park exhibit does not represent any real world locales in San Diego, but clearly is modeled after the city. The Club simultaneously has a second show under way, through Jan. 27, at the Richard Nixon Library in Yorba Linda, Calif. Some elements in that show are modeled after infrastructure in Houston, Texas.
The San Diego Model Railroad Museum displays a variety of exhibits throughout the year at its facility inside Balboa Park. The organization, dedicated to preserving and displaying miniature representations of California railroads, is funded in part through grants from the City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture, as well as the San Diego County Community Enhancement Project.
At a Glance
WHAT: Southern California LEGO Train Club’s winter show
WHEN: Now through Jan.14; open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekends; closed Christmas Day and New Year’s Day
WHERE: San Diego Model Railroad Museum at Balboa Park, 1649 El Prado
COST/MORE INFORMATION: $8 for adults; children 14 and under free. For more information, visit sdmrm.org.
