Annual 'Rail Fest' Saturday

Ellen Gatrell, secretary/treasurer of the Fostoria Rail Preservation Society, has a succinct description of her organization's annual Rail Festival: "It's Fostoria." Indeed, the laying of tracks for the Fremont and Indiana Railroad started in the newly established city of Fostoria -- formed through the merger of Rome and Risdon -- in 1854. And trains have been coming through ever since. The manner in which railroads and train traffic have ingrained themselves into Fostoria will be recognized with the 21st annual festival, scheduled for 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday at Fostoria Junior/Senior High School, 1001 Park Ave., and nearby Fostoria Elementary School, 1202 H.L. Ford Drive. Admission is free for children under age 10 and $5 for all others. Highly popular every year are the model railroad displays set up in the elementary school gymnasium by different organizations involved in the hobby. A healthy number of vendors are always on hand at the junior/senior high school selling model-railroad components, models, books and various other train-related items. All told an average year has brought about 1,000 to the festival. "I think it's Fostoria and the trains and the (Iron Triangle) Railpark and the (website) cameras; I think it's everything combined," Gatrell said of the attraction to the festival. "It all works together. ... My word is balance. Everything in life is balance. If the vendors are happy, they're going to come back. If the customers aren't happy, they aren't going to come back. So, you have to have both of them work together. I think we do. "I think we have 57 vendors this year, and that's pretty normal. We have some vendors with one or two tables, some with 10, some with nine, some with 15. It just depends on what they have. "And remember, everything changes when people pass away. Like anything else, you have to get someone interested in it in order to carry it on. And we're doing OK." The people who attend the festival come from near and far. "Every couple of years, we ask for hometowns and states," Gatrell said. "Generally, we have at least 16 different states, and we have them from foreign countries, too. That's not too shabby for a one-day show. And they continually come back because they want to see what somebody has to offer. ... And then they'll go to the railpark and enjoy the trains and talk to people. There's a lot of camaraderie. They come to meet with friends." Gatrell said it's "absolutely" common for people to visit both the festival and the railpark, located at 499 S. Poplar St. With that in mind, the rail preservation society will open the B&O Railroad caboose from the 1960s to visitors at least from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The railpark may have more visitors than usual on festival day, but it draws train enthusiasts from various places year-round. Gatrell estimates visitors from at least 20 countries have gone to the site, which is open all day, every day, to see trains travel through. "They come from all over," Gatrell said. "But we don't always know they're there. That's why, someday, we'd like to have a kiosk where they could mark that they're there. But remember, the Virtual Railfan cameras and the Railstream cameras are the eyes of people everywhere. That's our traffic. "I use this analogy: You watch an Ohio State game at home, with the bathroom down the hall and the kitchen over there. But what's different about watching it in the stadium? That's where the interest takes you. Yes, there are a lot of trains. And that's why they're coming." This year marks the 10th anniversary of the railpark opening, and a ceremony is scheduled for 1 p.m., Nov. 15, as recognition. "We are blessed to have city council and everybody in the administration building understand that people come here to watch trains and for them to build that," Gatrell said. Gatrell said two or three golf carts will be used to transport visitors to the festival to and from the junior/senior high school. Stops at the entrances of both buildings will also be available to those riding on Romick's Railway, a small, non-rail passenger train. Visitors can also view entries to the festival's photo contest and purchase food and drinks. Parking for the event is free.