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Train hobbyist keeps his faith on track with hands-on displays for a good cause
Andrea McGovern
Willoughby
The sounds of a toy trains were a part of Robert Tarr’s life from the very beginning. His brother, eight years older, had a model railroad and loved playing with it. From the moment young Robert came home from the hospital, “choo-choo, chug-chug and woo-woo” were part of his life.
“I got hooked at an early age,” says Tarr, noting he realizes his fascination may be hard to understand for those who come from a family “without a railroad history.”
“At the age of nine I got my first set of N scale trains,” Tarr recalls. “They trains ran on ½-inch rails. My dad thought it would save space in the basement.”
As he grew, Tarr’s passion for toy trains began to morph into “an all around interest in railroading.” At the age of 18, he left his Cleveland Heights home for a job in the field, in Alliance, Nebraska, where he worked for a few years as a hostler in a large yard. He then moved into over-the-road engine service, on the way to his dream job of railroad engineer.
“My goal was to become a locomotive engineer,” he says. What he found was that the need for workers in the industry was so great at the time, which predated mandatory drug and alcohol testing, that it was an industry rife with carelessness and accidents. When he had finally seen enough, he returned to Cleveland. Today, Tarr has nearly 20 years in with the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority, where he is a train operator.
After the stint in Nebraska, in his early 20s, Tarr had two experiences that influenced his hobby. He studied at the Cleveland Art Institute, and worked for a time at the Hobby House in downtown Cleveland. It was at the Hobby House that he discovered the trains that would come to be the focus of his hobbying passion for life, the G scale. A larger train suitable for outdoor use, the G scale train is far sturdier than its smaller counterparts. Lehman Gross Bahn (LGB) Tarr’s manufacturer of choice, was known for models that could be used for outdoor displays and even withstood with ease being handled by young children.
MARIBETH JOERIGHTAidan Parks, 6, of Eastlake plays with some trains as Robert Tarr helps him get set up during a recent train event.
Once Tarr had become a husband and homeowner, he began creating small displays of his model railroads in the backyard. He even brought the trains to nursing homes and senior centers as an activity for the residents. As his children grew, he used model trains in their home-schooling and scouting curricula. His art experience gave him a practiced eye for designing engaging layouts.
A few years ago, Tarr and his wife Dorothy decided it was time for him to pursue the dream that had been recurring ever since he began collecting G scale trains. He wanted to turn his passion into a business.
“We call it ‘Trains at Your Place,’” he says. “I take the trains and set them up at events.” The difference between Tarr’s train displays and others you may see is that he allows guests to handle and play with the trains. Despite the obvious risks to his equipment, it is the joy of this hands-on play that motivates him.
“When I go to an event, I custom design a layout to fit the area,” he says. “Each train has its own route. I explain to people how to rail the cars (put them on the track,) how to couple and uncouple them and how the throttle works. They then walk through, and there will always be a group gathered by the throttles!”
For groups of children, Tarr encourages them to bring small toys to use playing with the trains. How each event proceeds depends on the group that is present.
“Some kids are interested in leaving the trains running,” he says. “Others just want to take them off the track and scatter them on the floor. What we set up will depend on the kids, and it really doesn’t have that much to do with their age. It’s the demeanor of the children.” Tarr says boys and girls of all ages seem to be equally fascinated by trains.
“At this year’s Octoberfest at Immaculate Conception church in Willoughby, my parish, a young couple in their mid to late 20s was watching the trains, and I noticed that she seemed more intrigued than he did. I handed them each a token and said ‘Why don’t you give it a try?’ They stayed over an hour, and had a really good time. It’s fun for me to watch people enjoying this so much.”
Tarr, a vocal pro-life advocate, donates his time and trains each year at Immaculate Conception’s Oktoberfest to raise funds for the church’s pro-life ministries. He also does a couple of other charity events each year, to support Catholic or educational causes or the Boy Scouts. He particularly enjoys doing train displays for senior groups.
“Most seniors grew up during the heyday of railroads,” he says. “They remember trains. They reminisce about their aunts and uncles, whoever they knew who worked or traveled on the trains. But it’s funny. They are afraid to touch them. They grew up in an era when you didn’t touch the trains. They are afraid they’ll break them, and it is an issue, because most model trains are not designed to be played with. But the LGB trains, which were originally made in West Germany, were designed for play.”
“This all started out as a hobby,” Tarr says. “But once your turn a hobby into a business, it’s a business. It’s no longer ‘Oh I feel like playing with trains today.’ Now it’s ‘I have to be set up for a party at 3 p.m.’ There’s stress involved, but once the display is set up and people are having fun, I get so much satisfaction watching them. I can’t take the trains with me, can I?”
McGovern is a freelance writer.