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For those who received their first toy train set for Christmas, thoughts of it motoring around the Christmas tree – with that pleasant smell of electricity discharging under its wheels – bring back fond memories of a bygone time. LaRue Shempp was an avid model train collector from Williamsport who searched the world to add to his collection, but he always wanted his trains to remain in Williamsport. His collection of model trains is on permanent display in the basement of the Thomas T. Taber Museum of the Lycoming County Historical Society (LCHS), 858 W. Fourth St.
John L. Hunsinger, a retired educator with extensive knowledge of the Shempp collection, said LaRue Shempp’s fascination with model trains began as a young boy as he was walking to church with his father. As he passed a storefront window, he noticed a model train had been running all night. His father called the owner and he immediately came to turn off the train. The owner subsequently hired Shempp at age 10 or 11 to take care of his trains the next year. “This blossomed to the point where he started to build elaborate layouts. This is where his interest in model trains came from,” Hunsinger said.
Gary W. Parks, LCHS director, said the society was founded in 1907 by a group of historically-minded citizens. “It was chartered with the purpose of collecting and preserving materials related to the history of Central Pennsylvania, and, specifically, Lycoming County,” Parks said.
Hunsinger said it was Dr. LaRue E. Pepperman and the Williamsport Chamber of Commerce who were instrumental in keeping Shempp’s collection in Williamsport. When the Williamsport Foundation agreed to buy the collection, Shempp’s desire to keep the trains here came to fruition.
Pepperman was the head of the committee tasked with finding a place to display the trains. After deciding the collection would be displayed at the former LCHS Museum, now the Taber Museum, its next step was raising the funds needed to construct the cabinetry and running display platforms for the collection. Harold Ingram, an official with the Brodart Corp. of Williamsport, met with Shempp and Pepperman and designed the cabinets.
Shempp knew of Ingram’s work refurbishing the James V. Brown Library and area schools, so when he called Ingram to show him the collection – upon seeing it – Ingram told Shempp his trains were warehoused, not displayed. “He gave me the freedom to go ahead and do it. And he liked what I showed him,” Ingram said. The Brodart Corp. then manufactured and installed the cabinets at cost.
The collection’s display was to have two running train layouts in two sizes, “O” and “HO” gauge. John Deeble, of Lancaster, had built the large transformers for the Train Collectors Association Museum in Strasburg, and he supplied his plans to Pepperman.
This enabled Bower Electric Co. to build the transformers, install timers and cooling fans for the display. Much of this work and materials was donated. Track and other materials were furnished by the Williamsport Junior League, Bowser Manufacturing and the Williamsport Rotary Club.
“The trains were moved under the supervision of LaRue Shempp from his home to the museum. There, they were carefully cleaned and placed in the cabinets per Mr. Shempp’s instructions,” Hunsinger said. With all of the work being done by volunteers, the entire project spanned a period of two years with the exhibition’s grand opening on July 20, 1983.
There are more than 2,000 pieces, 100 individual locomotives and 347 complete train sets in the collection with many rare and prototype models. While the earliest model train (1877) is a steam engine powered by alcohol, another – the Mayflower by American Flyer Gilbert – Shempp thought to be “the most beautiful toy train ever made,” Hunsinger said. With only 50 of these sets ever sold, it is quite rare.
Some of the more famous model trains in the collection are the Super 381, nicknamed “Brute” (S gauge, more than 20 pounds). “Brute” is a Lionel prototype possibly manufactured in Italy. This train was so large they realized they couldn’t manufacture it for children at this size, so they downgraded it to a smaller size. “They were still standard gauge, but this prototype is larger,” Hunsinger said.
Another popular model train in the collection is a No. 1 gauge German LGB owned by President Ronald Reagan. When it was learned Reagan never got a train set as a child, he received many as gifts. Because most were more than $50, they had to be turned over to General Services Administration who loaned this one to the museum for display.
For more information on the Shempp train collection at the Taber Museum, visit www.tabermuseum.org or call 570-326-3326.