Five local toy train collectors, who call themselves the Mystic Knights of the Rusty Rail, Northern Division, have been meeting every week for the past year to discuss one of their favorite subjects - trains.

"We collect, we research, we restore or rehabilitate and we save for future collectors - toy trains," said member Bob LaDuke.

Every Wednesday morning at approximately 9 a.m. members LaDuke, Doug Deer, Joe Ranker, Gary Bush and Bill Rigby meet, appropriately, at the Depot Deli on Railroad Ave. for coffee and train-talk.

"Every week there is something to study," said Rigby.

Although the jovial group may discuss their collections and research toy trains each week, a hobby which can be expensive, it has turned into more.

"It's not only the collecting of trains," said Ranker. "It's the banter back and forth."

LaDuke agreed, adding, "We're having fun with this."

Each of them is a member of the Train Collectors Association (TCA) and participate in a train meet ( to buy, sell, or admire trains), twice a year in York, PA.

"...It's better than any Christmas you ever had. If a person went to York and the nicest looking woman that was ever put together walked down that aisle naked as a Jaybird, nobody would see her. They'd all be looking at the trains," said LaDuke as the group of collectors rolled with laughter.

Other relatively local shows, which members have participated in, exist in Norwich, Albany, Utica, and Hudson.

"You can find stuff that needs a little TLC and it's just as good as anything else," said Ranker.

Although LaDuke said he may go with a list of items to search for, he may find something that is not on his list that he can't possibly live without.

"What happens is you find something you weren't looking for and it turns out to be something really spectacular," said Bush.

Their collections include accessories for trains, including buildings, bridges, and signals.

One of the oldest items within LaDuke's collection would be the Bing Live Steamer from 1905. The next would be a piece from Ranker's collection, the Toonerville Trolley, based on a comic strip back in the 1920's.

Deer said they collect many different sizes and scales of model trains, including standard, "O," and "G" gauge- which Ranker said is calculated by the distance between the rails.

When asked approximately how many trains or train sets they each have, Bush replied it would too difficult to answer.

Rigby said he finally has a room where he can display at least half of his collection. The rest is in boxes.

Although some have the support of family members for this hobby, not all do. LaDuke described a collector he knew who used to buy trains and hide them in his basement before his wife found out about the purchase.

As a side note, the TCA has a kids' club for its younger members. TCA chapters also donate money for educational tools to schools around the country, said LaDuke.

According to their website, www.traincollectors.org, the TCA was founded in Yardley, Pennsylvania in 1954, although LaDuke emphasized that there were collectors around previously. TCA, whose headquarters are located in Strasburg, PA, has a mission "to preserve an important segment of history- Tinplate Toy Trains- through research, education, community outreach, fellowship, establishment of collecting standards, and to promote the growth and enjoyment of the hobby."

According to the website, the worldwide organization contains over 31,000 members in 20 Divisions with 20 Chapters.

Many of them became interested in trains as children.

"A lot of those kids who play with Thomas will probably evolve into toy train nuts," said LaDuke. "That's the whole point."