There’s something enchanting about miniature trains that...

There’s something enchanting about miniature trains that look like the real thing, says Gale Irwin, superintendent of the Los Angeles Division of the National Model Railroad Assn.

“It goes back to childhood,” he said. “People remember the toy trains they had in their youth. Sometimes, they recall the steam trains they saw go by in their younger days.”

To bolster Irwin’s point, more than 2,000 people are expected to visit the association’s extensive weekend model train display before it ends today at the South Coast Botanic Garden on the Palos Verdes Peninsula. Hours are 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

There will be several operating railroads, ranging from a large garden train chugging its way through the cactus garden to a layout so tiny that everything--track, train and scenery--can fit into a suitcase.

The various layouts come complete with scenery that give them the look of a real trains passing through the American landscape: tunnels and mountains, bridges, buildings, water tanks, even automobiles and miniature people walking on streets.

Visitors will be able to operate a few of the layouts, something Irwin said is a special treat for the many children who come to the show. “Boys and girls alike like to look at and run trains,” he said.

For model railroad hobbyists, the show will include a “how-to” clinic on building and painting model railroad equipment and scenery. There also will be movies on historic railroads and the restoration of vintage locomotives.

The garden is at 26300 Crenshaw Blvd. Admission is $3 for adults, $1.50 for seniors and students, 75 cents for children ages 5 to 12, free for youngsters 4 and under.