Trains have been synonymous with Christmas for centuries. In many households, it wasn’t Christmas unless a model train was chugging its way around the tree. However, for Bob Foster, his love of trains knows no seasons. For him, model railroading has been a lifelong interest. 

Descend the stairs at the Fosters’ home and I can guarantee you’ll be stopped in your tracks. Everywhere you look, trains and railroad-related memorabilia are in evidence. Bob’s been a confirmed Lionel man since he received his first Lionel Santa Fe model train at the age of 6. By the age of 7, he was competing in train racing. Fortunately, he found a kindred spirit in his wife, Delores. They laugh and agree that Bob has no inkling of what he’s spent over the years and Delores says she doesn’t want to know. All they know is that the enjoyment they’ve derived from their hobby is priceless.  

Their meet-cute occurred when both were attending a fire hall dance in Fairless Hills. “I saw a guy who looked kind of familiar,” Delores says of Bob, who had lived a few streets away when they were children. One dance led to 62 years of marriage, two children and five grandchildren. “I wouldn’t change a thing,” Bob says. 

The two had one thing in common. Steel had brought their families to Fairless Hills, a planned community along the Delaware River in Bucks County that was built to provide homes for employees of U.S. Steel-Fairless Works. The Foster family’s association with the company included Bob (30 years), his father and, for a time, his son. Delores’ father and brother worked for the company, as well. 

Bob and Delores, who was employed by a technical school, spent their working years living in Fallsington, Bucks County, and when they retired, they decided to explore their options. “I wanted something different,” Delores says. “We’d always enjoyed coming to Lancaster County,” Bob adds, naming Shady Maple, American Music Theatre  and Maple Grove Speedway, where he often displayed the street rod he restored at car shows, as their main drawing cards in the area. One day in 2010, they were driving through the countryside and came upon a new 55+ community in the Gordonville area. Intrigued, they toured the model home. “It had a basement! I’ve never lived in a house with a basement!” Bob reports. He knew exactly what he would do with the bonus space: Create the train room of his dreams!  

Once they moved to their new home, Bob went to work designing and modifying the open basement. He built a workshop and storage area (they also have a large collection of holiday decorations, hence the need for dedicated storage) along the side and back of the room and walled them in. The remaining 400-plus square feet was used to hold the train displays Bob would design and build. 

Bob launched his train room in 2012 with what he calls a practice area. The large display mimics a lumber yard (named in his father’s honor) and a quarry. A large mountain provides the backdrop for the scene. “I built the mountain myself,” Bob says. The details are amazing. “That’s what sets Bob’s displays apart,” says Delores of the time and effort that is devoted to finding an element, whether it’s sourced online or through expos such as the York Train Show that is held each April and October. “You can find just about anything there,” he says of trains, tracks, buildings, landscaping items and memorabilia. The Fosters also have another source in their granddaughter, Jessica, who is a devotee of yard sales and is always in search of railroad-related finds. “She’s brought us all kinds of stuff,” says Bob. “She knows what I like.” 

Three years later, Bob declared the display was finished. Well, according to Delores, that’s not entirely true. As she has discovered, a display is never fully finished. “A lot of tweaking and remodeling happens over the years,” she says, pointing out that Bob has been tinkering with the display over the past year. 

The largest display is dedicated to U.S. Steel. Again, the detail is mind-boggling, as it encompasses the steel-making process. Bob had mulled over its design for years, explaining, “it had to come together in my mind” before he could tackle it. The scene, which he named Foster Works, contains all the elements one would have seen at a steel mill, including a blast furnace (which Delores built) and an open hearth that glows red inside (courtesy of some Halloween decorations). A former neighbor, Leo Springer, who had an electrical background, helped with that aspect of the project, as well as other lighting elements. Leo has since moved to Florida, so another neighbor, Dave Myers, often helps Bob with projects. “The buildings had to be modified to accommodate the O-scale trains,” Bob points out.     

Yet another display has a Christmas theme, as its main street is filled with buildings that relate to the holiday movie A Christmas Story. “That table sat empty for years,” Delores explains. “We had train sets that belonged to our son Bobby, so we used them.” Another area of that display is dedicated to Mickey Mouse, of whom the Fosters are fans. Bottle-brush trees (of various sizes) add a holiday touch, as does the large, decorated tree in the center of the table. “A friend suggested we add that,” says Delores, who views the quaint scene as the “easiest, quickest and most fun display we’ve done.” 

As if the displays aren’t enough to take in, glass cabinets that line the walls are filled with Lionel trains and railroad memorabilia. “You know, sometimes I come down here at night and turn on the lights in the displays and just sit and take it all in,” says Bob. “It’s my way of relaxing.”