Boo-Coo Trains on display in Starlight Plaza
Steve Waterstradt of Petersburg has one of the 72 model train set-ups on display at the Boo-Coo Train exhibit in the Starlight Plaza, on Monroe Street in Sylvania, Ohio. The exhibit is free, and is open Friday through Sunday. The display is in a building located behind Farmer Jack.

The name of the group, “Boo-Coo Trains” is taken from the French word “beaucoup,” meaning “many,” and the abbreviations of the C&O and B&O railroads which served the northwestern Ohio region for many years.

Members of the group have built elaborate, intensely detailed layouts, including landscaping, wiring and model building. Railroads depicted include the Canadian-Pacific, New York Central, B&O, C&O, Southern, and Burlington.

All are built to H-O scale. While the display as it is set up can run as many as 17 trains, only 13 are making their way around the tracks this weekend, so visitors can fully appreciate the sets. The show went up the first weekend after Christmas, and took about a week to set up.

Visitors can’t help but be awed by the elaborate display.

“We’re into the details,” said Mr. Waterstradt, who has been active in model railroading for six years. “One guy says the trains are just here for animation.”

He may be right. There is an incredible amount of handiwork to see. Group members have built a coal mine— with several levels of underground shafts on view underneath the surface. Another multi-level display features a tall waterfall, with a train going through a tunnel. On the rock walls are eagles, cougars, rock climbers and more fascinating details. A third one features a subway station, and the underground version beneath.

There are baseball and football games, and an elaborate race car track set up— complete with bleachers full of spectators.

“We change the cars on the track every day,” said Mr. Waterstradt. “The guy who made this also has cars that have been smashed, so he can simulate a crash.”

There’s a hospital with a working helicopter waiting on the helipad. There’s a working drive-in movie theatre, and a Star Wars-theme “Death Star” disco.

The lay-outs range from the 1800’s, which are arranged separately— to the present day. All are realistic, many are humorous. There’s a disreputable-looking building that houses the “Arthur Anderson Shredding Co.”

There’s also a Petticoat Junction layout, complete with girls swimming in the water tower, and Arnold the pig on the porch. Behind it is a lake, which can feature either a plane wreck or a ship wreck, or the Loch Ness Monster.

“It’s a lot of fun,” said Mr. Waterstradt. “We set it up four to five times a year in different places around the area.”

Most of the layouts are built in boxes, and the sections can be arranged differently, depending on the size and shape of the room. There also are holiday elements that can be added, such as a Christmas parade with a tree-lighting ceremony, trick or treaters for Halloween, a New Year’s Eve car, and an Easter car.

“It’s always different,” Mr. Waterstradt said. “We’re always adding to something and rearranging pieces. We change many of the scenes daily.”

Those admiring the display will be surprised to find a hazmat crew responding to a train wreck, the Overlook Motel from the movie “The Shining,” complete with maze and topiary animals, and the Jack Nicholson character with an axe; and a subdivision which was created by a member using actual house plans from a subdivision he works on.

Mr. Waterstradt’s own layout includes several humorous pieces, including an improbable restaurant with giant French fries, a hot dog and a drink on the roof. He swears it’s modeled after a real restaurant in Tennessee, near the home of an aunt. He also has a working car wash.

“We all participate in everybody’s module,” said Mr. Waterstradt. “Five people helped work on this one.”

Visitors are handed a sheet of paper challenging them to find 16 different details, including Batman, a Greenpeace raft and an ice machine.

And as if the displays were not elaborate enough, there’s more than meets the eye. As Mr. Waterstradt walked around the room, pointing out items of interest, he often carefully lifted off the tops of buildings, to show completely detailed rooms inside, with people, furnishings, and even food in bowls.

The Boo-Coo Train exhibit obviously took beaucoup time and beaucoup devotion to create.