Staff photo / J.T. Whitehouse Standing at the controls, Bruce Irwin loves to showcase his collection and share ideas and thoughts with other toy train collectors.

BERLIN CENTER — Bruce Irwin has long been a toy train fan. He has amassed a nice collection of vintage toy trains and enjoys operating them on his custom layout.

Irwin, now 82, said his passion for trains began as a young child.

“I was introduced to toy trains by my father, Robert Irwin, who served as a Youngstown police officer,” Irwin said. “I don’t remember any time that I did not have a train.”

By the time Irwin was in junior high school, his dad and mom, Mable Irwin, let him set up a layout in the basement. It was the mid-1950s and a time when toy trains were the rage.

Irwin graduated from Chaney High School in 1957, and went on to attend Youngstown University, just shortly after it was known as Youngstown College. He earned a degree in retail merchandising, but really wanted to go into the ministry. That took him to Mount Union College for one year, then on to the Methodist Theological School in Delaware, Ohio.

“When I went to the seminary, all of my trains got packed up and stored,” Irwin said. “At one point I was going to give them away, but my father convinced me not to do that.”

Irwin, now the Rev. Bruce Irwin, moved forward in life, getting married, getting a church in Avon, Ohio, and having a son, Brent.

“In 1978, my dad brought my trains to Avon so I could set up the train under the Christmas tree,” Irwin said.

While at Avon, Irwin met a couple of ladies whose father had died and left them with a large collection of toy trains. He helped the ladies by giving them an appraisal on the collection and then was able to put together an auction for them to get the best profit. That got Irwin into another part of the hobby — buying and selling.

In 1984, Irwin moved back to the area and found their Berlin Center home. They purchased it and had it remodeled, including a full second floor over the garage where he was going to build his layout and display his collection. The work was finished, and he officially moved there in 2001 when he retired from full-time ministry.

Today he still steps in to help local pastors when there is a need. He balances his ministry with his hobby of collecting, but his home doesn’t have a room that is void of trains.

“They are all over,” said his wife Barbara. “But I like them too.”

Irwin is also happy to share interesting stories the trains have delivered in his life. One such story deals with one of his first trains.

When Irwin was 6, in 1945, he received a Lionel set from 1931. It was all metal and included an engine and three passenger cars. Through his childhood years, the set saw a lot of use and wear. Irwin attempted to dismantle the train and repaint it a different color. It didn’t work out and Irwin became disappointed and threw the set in the trash.

“My brother-in-law, Tom Burnett, pulled them out and took them home,” Irwin said.

He said Burnett took the train set to a friend, Jim Marter, who restored old trains. Marter worked his magic and brought the vintage trains back to life. Forty years later, in 1995, Burnette proposed a trade for a set from 1954. Irwin got his boyhood train set back and ran it under the Christmas tree for the first time in 40 years. The train had come full circle.

Another interesting story involved a fellow who wanted to sell his collection of O gauge trains. Dennis Mamone from Poland got in touch with Irwin and paid him a visit with his trains.

“After seeing what he had, I told him he really should keep them,” Irwin said. “That was 10 years ago.”

Today, Mamone not only has a nice basement layout, but he also takes part in the Canfield Fair model train display, and puts on shows for train enthusiasts to come and add to their collections.

“This will be the fifth year for the Iron and Steel All-Gauge Model Train Show and Expo at St. Mary’s Assumption Social Center, 356 South Belle Vista Ave. in Youngstown,” Mamone said. “And Bruce will be there on Oct. 16. In fact, he has been at all five shows.”

Irwin said Mamone and he became good friends and both love to promote the hobby. Irwin said he is not a vendor so to speak, but enjoys buying and selling toy trains and considers it a part of the hobby.

The Oct. 16 show will run 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and as both Mamone and Bruce said, “It is a great place to meet other train enthusiasts and share stories.”

To suggest a Saturday profile, contact features editor Burton Cole at bcole@tribtoday.com or metro editor Marly Reichert at mreichert@tribtoday.com.

jtwhitehouse@vindy.com