By Railroad Model Craftsman Staff

Two model railroad clubs — one in Texas and another in New England — recently turned their attention from modeling to trying to raise money and supplies for some worthy causes. 

In March, the Texas Northern Model Railroad Club based in Dallas held its first-ever food drive. The club set up food donation boxes at its clubhouse and a local hobby shop, Discount Model Trains in Addison, Tex., and gathered more than 400 pounds of food items for the North Texas Food Bank. 

“Since COVID began, our needs have grown substantially. With the cost of food on the rise, we are needing support from our partners like TNMRC more than ever to meet the increased food needs to close the hunger gap in North Texas. We welcome large and small organizations alike to provide donations. It takes all of us to fight hunger in our community,” said Colbi White, philanthropy project manager for the food bank. 

The model railroad club was hoping to gather about 100 pounds of food, but they ended up gathering four times that. 

Further north, in the Boston area, members of the HUB Division of the National Model Railroad Association have been raising money for people impacted by the Russian war in Ukraine. The HUB group has teamed up with the Wolsztyn Experience Mutual Trust Society and the Wolsztyn Steam Locomotive Depot Cultural Institute in Poland to support 400 Ukrainian refugees trying to escape the violence in their home country. Members of HUB have been traveling to Poland for years to see and ride steam trains and have built up a special relationship with the community. On April 16, Wolsztyn Steam Locomotive Depot Cultural Institute will run a special excursion and host a picnic for the refugees currently in the area. 

The HUB group recently opened up a bank account to gather donations. Checks can be sent to: The HUB Division, Inc., Ukraine Support Fund, PO Box 672, Hollis, NH 03049-0672.