DE KALB – Jim Hobgood has served as mayor of Marion and as a state legislator and he has worked for the state, but six years ago, he returned to a love that he first developed around the age of five –trains.

He purchased a building in De Kalb in 2012 and opened a train museum.

He plans to show share his passion for trains during a Christmas Open House from 3-5 p.m. on Dec. 18 at the De Kalb Regional Model Railroad Museum at 299 Main Street, De Kalb. 

Children and adults alike enjoy Hobgood’s collection, which includes vintage trains, tracks and all things railroad.

“It’s still a work in progress,” Hobgood said. “It is not finished by any means. I like trains and sharing with others. It’s a labor of love and that’s why I don’t charge admission or take donations.”

Hobgood lived across the railroad tracks in Marion as a child.

“Any time we went somewhere we had to cross the tracks to go,” Hobgood said.

He watched the trains roll by, and then he and his brother received their first train set. They continued to add tracks to the set inside their home. That is until, “My mother got tired of stepping on it and we put it up,” he said.

Hobgood recalled attending Witherspoon Elementary School in Meridian and going on a train trip to Mobile arranged for the students by their sixth grade teacher, whose husband was an engineer with the railroad.

“We saw the Waterman Building in Mobile and ate lunch at Morrison’s Cafeteria,” Hobgood recalled.

As he got older, he said his interest began to turn to other things but eventually his love for the history of the railroad and the trains returned. Then he found the building in DeKalb that once housed the old Sciples’ Grocery Store.

“I had a couple of engines was all I had,” he said. “My wife said I could get some trains now that I had a building.”

The first train set he purchased was a Kansas City Southern set built by Lionel, a company famous for its model trains for many years.

“I was like a kid at Christmas when I opened it,” he said.

Over the years he collected many more trains through friends, consignment shops and tips from others about items for sale. The museum houses several train tracks, complete with the steam engine puffing steam as it goes around the track. The display in the front window is a Christmas village with Santa Claus making a round on the track and a one-car train running above it.

The building came with many rows of shelves, which now house displays of all types of trains, from Amtrak passenger cars to trains representing the Gulf, Mobile and Ohio (GM&O) train route, Kansas City Southern trains and trains hauling freight, some with hand-crafted logs and wood, built by a wood crafter in Meridian.

“I focus on trains that ran in Kemper and Lauderdale Counties and southern states,” Hobgood said.

Hobgood just returned from College Station, Texas, where he attended the arrival of the train carrying the casket of the late President George H.W. Bush. He made the 10-hour drive to be a part of history and to pay his respects.

“It was a moving experience for me,” Hobgood said. “The last president’s body transported by train was Eisenhower. I felt like I wanted to go. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”

Hobgood waited for hours in rainy conditions for the arrival of the 11-coach train carrying members of the Bush family and the casket of President Bush.

“It was touching,” Hobgood said. “There was a window in the car carrying his body and you could see the American flag draped over the coffin and two Marines stationed at each end of the casket. George and Laura Bush were riding behind the casket car and when the train pulled into the station they got out and waved at all of us.”

Hobgood said his long-term goal for his museum is to have a bigger layout of trains and have tracks running from the back wall of the building to the front. In addition to the trains, the museum houses other memorabilia such as old train schedules, M&M collectables and many other unique vintage items.

When you enter the building, you may hear the old train bell Hobgood purchased in Mobile that was submerged under water during Hurricane Katrina. There is something for everyone to enjoy including a box of bagged M&M’s and peppermints for children.

To arrange a tour of the museum, call Hobgood at 601-938-1729 or attend the open house on Dec. 18. Refreshments will be served.