Jonathan Parrott explains his plans for building several model railroad layouts in the basement of the depot at Wilson Brewer Park. At its original site on Des Moines Street, the depot had no basement. One was created when it was moved to Wilson Brewer Park in 1971. Parrot, and his father have long experience designing and building model railroads in several scales.

A Webster City father-son team made a presentation to the Wilson Brewer Park Foundation Board Wednesday that, if implemented, would see up to four model train layouts built in the depot basement, and opened to the public, as museum exhibits.

The depot basement has been used for storage in recent years, but this will change when artifacts are moved from the basement to the First Hamilton County courthouse sometime this year.

The board voted $1,000 in “seed money,” and directed the presenters to return with detailed concepts as to where the layouts would be built and how much space they require.

For Dave Parrott, and son, Jonathan Parrott, model trains aren’t toys restricted to a circle of track around the Christmas tree to be packed away and forgotten until next year. Both are experienced model railroaders, inspired by a lifetime love of real railroads.

Jonathan Parrott began sizing up the depot basement a year ago, taking notes on the floorplan and thinking about where track might eventually run. He produced a scale drawing that will precisely fit the layout into the basement, leaving room for visitors and maintenance of the depot HVAC system. The trains won’t fill the entire basement; room will be left at the south end for storage of museum artifacts and equipment.

The first project will be a Lionel O27 layout. Lionel was an American manufacturer of model railroad equipment, founded in 1900 in New York City.

“It will be built at a child’s level with lots of buttons for the kids to push,” Dave Parrott explained. “They’ll actually be controlling the trains.”

As a volunteer docent at the depot, Parrott said, “the few kids we get here always have the same question: where are the trains?”

Not long ago, trains were at the top of a kid’s wish list. Lionel’s 1959 catalogue was filled with ways to introduce kids to the magic of trains. Sets were priced for every budget, from a $19.95 three-car steam-powered freight train, to a four-car replica of Santa Fe’s Super Chief, then the nation’s top passenger train, going for a cool $100.

When the excitement of running trains wore off, there was always the “accessories” page of that same Lionel catalogue. Here was found Lionel No. 45, “the gateman,” who, just as the train approached, stepped out of his shanty waving a lantern, or No. 97, the “coal loader” with a moving conveyor that dumped “coal” into a waiting hopper car. The ultimate Lionel accessory was a boxcar that fired a midget Minuteman missile at another boxcar, “exploding” it on impact.

The WBP board hopes the allure of miniature trains will bring fun, excitement and wonder to kids asking “where are the trains?”

In other action, the board:

— Approved a $10,000 advance for Pruismann Painting of Webster City to buy an estimated 100 gallons of paint. The amount is part of a previously-approved bid by the company to power wash, scrape and repaint the depot exterior.

— Noted the long-awaited ramp to the north entrance of Mulberry Center Church has been graded, and is now ready for concrete paving.

— Confirmed interior finish work is proceeding at the First Hamilton County Courthouse. As of now, all lighting has been installed, but painting of the new stairwell and floors has yet to begin.

Work on the mini-split HVAC system, similar to that at Mulberry Center Church, is underway.

A completion date for the project hasn’t yet been confirmed.

— Announced exterior power lines have been buried underground, part of the City of Webster City’s long-range plans to put all such utilities underground to improve reliability and get rid of expensive-to-maintain and often unsightly utility poles.

The board is also continuing to write grant applications to pay for new restrooms, and repairs to restrooms inside the depot. Board members Doug Bailey, Ryan Rupiper and Kolleen Taylor have been especially active in seeking grants for the park.