Were you one of those kids who...

Were you one of those kids who stared, open-mouthed as giant locomotives rumbled by? Or who pressed against toy-store windows, watching the small model trains loop around an oval track?

Then visit Charles Wilson Park in Torrance for a locomotive fix.

Today, as on the first Sunday of every month, the Southern California Live Steamers will haul their scale locomotives out of storage and onto the rails at the east end of the park, 2200 Crenshaw Blvd.

From 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. the Steamers, a group of about 50 hard-core train hobbyists, will run their trains around the tracks, giving free rides to all who want them.

According to Dale Mooney, secretary for the Southern California Live Steamers, the model trains are roughly one-eighth scale, meaning 1 1/2 inches on the model trains corresponds to one foot on a life-size train. The trains run on rails set 7 1/2 inches apart.

The Steamers operate anywhere from three to six trains on any given Sunday, depending on how many club members haul their trains in by truck or station wagon. Only a few of the trains are stored at the park.

The locomotives can tow from five to 30 passengers, depending on how many cars are hooked up to the locomotive and how much power the locomotive can generate. Each ride lasts five to 10 minutes.

The locomotives are scale replicas of engines dating from the early 1900s to the present, and are worth as much as $50,000 each. Some of the models even run on steam generated by coal-burning engines. Other, later models run on diesel fuel, and still others are powered by battery-generated electricity.

The Southern California Live Steamers have been around since the 1940s but have used Charles Wilson Park for just the past five years. Previously, the Steamers were based in Lomita and operated on a track at a private location for friends and family.

But ever since they arranged with the city of Torrance to operate at the park, the Steamers have been running trains for hundreds of people every month.