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From afar, one of the model trains buzzing past grassy model countrysides in the middle of the Expo could be Anytown, USA. A closer look, however, shows that the Rogue Valley Model Railroad Club was thinking close to home. The handmade model train display has a silver Grange Co-op silo inspired by the real one in Central Point, and experts may notice that the turnaround loop is similar to a section of tracks near Butte Falls. As superintendent of operations at the railroad club, David Spakousky of Medford is such an expert, and that resemblance to actual track near Butte Falls is not a coincidence. It’s inspired by the Rogue Valley circa 1985, according to Spakousky, and features now-defunct businesses such as Rogue Valley Polymer, which made adhesives for the wood products industry. Many rocks and soils in the model originated from the real place. Despite that level of detail, he’s quick to point out slight details that differ from the model’s inspiration, such as more traffic on the highway than typical in Butte Falls. “Even though it’s based on Butte Falls, there’s a little bit of Klamath basin in it,” Spakousky admits. “On the modules, you collage.” The display is among 20 that will delight an anticipated 2,000 railroad fans of all ages through the weekend at the 41st annual Rogue Valley Railroad Show, going through Sunday afternoon at the Expo’s Seven Feathers Event Center at 1 Peninger Road, according to co-organizer Bruce Kelly. There are also 30 vendors for model railroad enthusiasts who seek a missing piece for their own collections. The Rogue Valley Model Railroad Club display was a draw for kids-at-heart, but the truly young seemed to flock to T.R. and Kara Moscaritolo’s Lego City. Over at least seven years , the whimsical Lego train display created by the teen siblings and their father has been a central attraction at the show. Hudson Carr, 7, a Jacksonville Elementary School second-grader, described the Lego trains as his favorites. “It took him a lot of time and stuff,” Carr said, describing the work that South Medford High School junior T.R. Moscaritolo put into the display with his younger sister and father. The display has evolved as the siblings have grown up. T.R.’s sister Kara, for example, has added signs to a rooftop promoting arty British rock group Gorillaz, which T.R. said is one of Kara’s favorite bands, and a punk-style Lego figure wearing all black and hanging out on a rooftop. “She does like the punk ethos,” said T.R., who added that he likes “the feel of making people’s day.” He said Legos are more approachable for kids than traditional model trains. It’s one of the things that drew him to Lego trains. In the past two years, the Rogue Valley Model Railroad Club has added an area where kids can operate the trains, according to David Spakousky, who said his interest in model trains began when he was a child — during the Christmas of 1954. “I just like trains,” Spakousky said. Spakousky was also behind the club’s display at Railroad Park in Medford, which he designed to capture as closely as possible the tracks between Medford and Klamath Falls. Doing so meant scouting the real tracks, including those at the former Medco site, and the tracks through White City, Eagle Point, Derby, Fish Lake, Keno and into Klamath Falls. The weekend show is the primary fundraiser for Railroad Park, which is a joint effort of the Rogue Valley Model Railroad Club, Medford Garden Railroads, Southern Oregon Railway Historical Society and Southern Oregon live steamers. The four nonprofits put on demonstrations at the Medford park the second and fourth Sundays of the month from April through October. The shows runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. Admission costs $5 for adults, $1 for children ages 6-12 and free for children 5 and younger. For info, call 541-613-1638 or email [email protected]. Reach reporter Nick Morgan at 541-776-4471 or [email protected] . Follow him on Twitter @ MTCrimeBeat .