Simi Valley Park’s Model Train Exhibit Is on Track

Noba Ackermann, 79, of Simi Valley prevented a series of train accidents in Oxnard on Saturday.

Wearing an electronic headset and talking with a dispatcher, Ackermann was giving permission to some trains to enter the city and others to leave.

Of course, if the cars did crash, damage would have been minimal.

The trains were part of a model railroad exhibit Saturday at the old Santa Susana Park railroad depot in Simi Valley.

Ackermann was in charge of a tiny version of the city of Oxnard in the display, and he was clearly in his element as he proudly pointed out how elaborate the show was.

“It has more than 250 feet of track,” he boasted.

“Look at this--an 18-car Southern Pacific train, and it was handmade!”

The two-room exhibit was a miniature of the tracks that stretched from Oxnard to Burbank in the 1920s, said Ackermann, a member of the Santa Susana Model Railroad Club, which constructed it.

“We started from scratch, and it took us a good four years. And we’re always adding on to it,” he said.

About 100 people came to see the permanent display, which is open to the public several times a year, Ackermann said.

The exhibit boasted intricate details such as tiny orange groves, grazing cattle and train depots.

Two dispatchers and four operators like Ackermann were needed to run four trains simultaneously.

“This is a nice display, because you can get close to it,” said Tim Nicoll of Simi Valley.

“Some shows I’ve been to don’t let you get this close.”

Allen Jenkins of Camarillo sighed enviously as he gazed at the exhibit.

“I’ve spent a lot of time on my own (model) train, but I’m nowhere near this.”