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lan MacKinnon got his first electric train two years before he was married. Fifty-five years later he’s still passionate about his hobby. Jan MacKinnon, left, and Chuck Oliver admire lan’s model of Scugog Lumber builclngs, which is part layout. of the model railway I Model railroading is addictive. Just ask any number of Scugog residents and they will confirm it, people like Tan MacKinnon, Chuck Oliver, Kevin Dunkerley, Clive Boyd, Jim Gross, John Brewer and a host of others. Most have operating railroad layouts in their basements. And their wives have to put up with the usual comments about being “railroaded” into marriage or that their husbands have “one track minds.” For three years now, a number of them have got together to present an annual Model Railroad Show at the Oddfellows Hall, in Port Perry. This June will be the third year of their show. The show is organized by the Markham Module Rail- road Group and the Beltliners of Pine Ridge Club. Several Scugog enthusiasts are involved. The Markham group is made up of members of the now defunct Markham Rail- road Modellers Club which folded in 2004 when they were forced to move from their accommodation in Markham where they had a permanent 1500 square foot display. One of the group’s members is Ian MacKinnon of Port Perry. He and his wife Marilyn moved to Port Perry in 1999 in anticipation of their retirement. “It wasn’t just the model railroaders in town, it was everything about the 10 FOCUS - JUNE 2011 JUNE FOCUS. 40 pages.indd 10 by Paul Arculus community. Just an hour from Toronto and all the shops and facilities,” he stated. The MacKinnons had looked at several places in Ontario: Kingston, Port Hope and Peterborough, but “Port Perry had such an interesting main street and the facilities were incomparable,” said Ian. The Model Railway Show will take place at the Oddfellows Hall, Port Perry on Sunday, June 12 from 10 a.m.to 4 p.m. Before retiring Ian had been the President of the Insur- ance Institute of Ontario and had taken a keen interest in health care. Of particular interest to the MacKinnons was the hospital in Port Perry and the fact that it had a full service and 30 doctors within 100 yards of the hospital. “You won't find that anywhere else in Ontario,” he said. Since moving here Ian has taken time to become active as a member of both the Port Perry Hospital Watchdog Committee and the North Durham Community 5/24/11 8:50:40 AM