<strong>PASO</strong> PEOPLE Jim’s Locomotive Obsession By Bob Chute Every once in awhile you get to write a story that is just tooo much fun. Such is the case talking with Jim and Penny Sabin, married for 48 years, and they’ve together experienced Jim’s lifelong obsession with trains. Jim has created an incredible fully operational built-to-scale steam locomotive - a facsimile of a Denver & Rio Grande Consolidation Engine - complete with a real coal car that includes a seat for the engineer, a box car, a flat car with seating for two children or adults, and a caboose. All are built in the scale of 1.5 inches to 1 foot with phenomenal detail and all ride on a track circling his house on 150 feet of track, with just 4 3/4” width between the rails. “I started working on it, with Penny’s support, when our daughter, Cullen, was born in 1974,” said Jim. “I had been to a supplier of engines within walking distance of our home in Lomita, looked at lots of catalogues, then I went into the garage and started on it, not really knowing what I was doing.” He finished the train, and the track when Cullen turned 17...by that time they had moved to the San Jose Area. “We lived on a busy street and people would drive by, see it and slam on their brakes to stop and watch us circle the house with a good head of steam.” Jim left his job in the Bay Area and he and Penny decided to move to Paso Robles in 2003, “The most critical concern about the house was the yard we needed to accommodate the track,” said Penny. “We finally found one that settled the purchase, and it took about a year to set up the track on our new property.” They’ve since added a water tank, landscaping and a stream running under a wood trestle bridge within the layout plus a 100 foot spur with a turntable for turnarounds. Rho and I, with our kids and grandkids, along with friends Dave and Shari, and their kids and grandkids, were fortunate to spend Pioneer Day afternoon experiencing this amazing setup, and Jim graciously agreed to wear a Santa cap for a <strong>December</strong> story. “She is very supportive of my obsession,” agreed Jim. “Penny is an artist and has been instrumental in finding everyday objects over the years to be part of the train or accessories in the cars and along the track...for example: she envisioned a sink for the caboose made from an ice cream scoop!” The true-to-scale Denver & Rio Grande Consolidation engine. Dustin and Riley out for a ride! The super detailed caboose. Dustin and Cooper riding the rails up a hill. Let’s turn the clock back and explore the roots of Jim’s obsession. “I remember my first Lionel train under the Christmas tree when I was 5 years old,” said Jim. “I was captivated.” He was raised in the Pasadena area, where they were near a train station, “My parents would take me to watch the trains arrive. I remember my first ride in the cab of a steam engine. That was really something - it was near the end of steam in 1950.” Riley, Cooper, Tobin and Dustin enjoying the sounds and steam with Jim. Jim explaining how the train runs to the audience of Eric, Dave, Cooper, Tobin and Dustin. Jim with other obsessed locomotive builders at Bitter Creek Western Railroad near AG. He sold the Lionel and graduated to scale model HO and created an 8x10 setup in his bedroom, “I was in to all types of plastic model building, including planes and cars as well as trains. “But what really changed my life was watching a Walt Disney Donald Duck cartoon, ‘Out of Scale‘ with Chip ‘n’ Dale. I thought that was the coolest thing, it was live steam inspired, and I knew I wanted to have something like that. [Editor’s Note: Take a few minutes now, go to your computer, grab your laptop, or iPad and Google this cartoon and watch it. This IS Jim’s train...watch Donald’s train and you’re watching the train Jim built....very cool.] Over the years Jim has been “kind of a lone wolf with my trains, haven’t really joined any live steam clubs. But then I heard about the Bitter Creek Western Railroad set up on private property near Arroyo Grande. My jaw dropped the first time I saw it... he has 2 1/4 miles of various tracks, buildings, bridges, tunnels and much more. I had pictures of my train in my wallet and showed them to the guys there to get some credibility, but the track was larger. My train wouldn’t fit. They were all running on rails 7 1/2” wide.” Jim got the bug again and bought another steam locomotive that would fit the tracks, “I didn’t start this one from scratch, I didn’t want to spend another 17 years building it. I found one in sad shape and restored it, ‘Uncle Sam,’ a 3” scale Porter Tank engine. The research and building is as much fun as running the trains for me. Going to Bitter Creek is really a fun social time, everyone has the same obsession...it’s only open to the public on select dates (see bcwrr.org). I only go once in awhile but we all help to maintain the area and the tracks.” Life is good! An obsession enjoyed and shared with family and friends. A suggestion for Jim and Penny... we all have gophers and squirrels in our yards, but you really need a couple of chipmunks in your yard to complete the effect. 38 Paso Robles <strong>Magazine</strong>, <strong>December</strong> <strong>2013</strong>
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