Westbrook Festival of Trees Train Layout

  Paul Corbett has been displaying a compact, yet full of action, train display at the Westbrook Festival of Trees in Westbrook, Maine for about 9 years. 

  The Festival located at the Westbrook Warren Congregational Church in Westbrook, Maine is in its 12^th year, running from December 1 through December 8, 2012.  It is a charitable event that has become a Westbrook institution serving as a fundraiser for local charities.  It also serves an opportunity for the community to come together.  In addition to quite a number of decorated trees,

 the Festival features crafts, ornate model buildings,

and, of course, Paul’s layout.

 

 

  The layout is well adorned with hand crafted models including a junk yard, a village commercial center, a cider mill, skating pond, and a train station. 

 

 

 The locos and cars are faithfully painted in the livery of the Sandy River and Rangeley Lakes Railroad of northern Maine.  The sign may qualify for the "Whacky Signs" feature of The Iron Horse.

 

  The Festival is well attended.  Paul related that there are over 700 visitors each year.  This morning (12/5/2012), the event was visited by over 100 elementary school students from the Westbrook Congin Public School.  

 

 

It is always gratifying to see the look on the youngsters’ faces when they first encounter the trains.  Their young but keen minds ask intelligent and interesting questions that Paul patiently answers.

  Hats off to Paul (and Walt Fossett who assisted him) for entertaining and educating the Festival visitors and providing great visibility and publicity for our Society.  Paul looks forward to a successful week and forward to next year’s display.