Wailoa Center’s Fountain Gallery will display “Wooden Art in Motion” by Le Notley this month. ADVERTISING Wailoa Center’s Fountain Gallery will display “Wooden Art in Motion” by Le Notley this month. Notley will be available through Sept. 24 to demonstrate
Wailoa Center’s Fountain Gallery will display “Wooden Art in Motion” by Le Notley this month.
Notley will be available through Sept. 24 to demonstrate his hand-crafted model train set dubbed the “Basswood Railroad Lines.” He will also be present at a reception slated for the artist from 5 to 7:00 p.m. on Friday where he will run his trains around his custom built track and answer any questions the public might have about his trains.
Notley was born and raised in Hilo and grew up in the late 1940s through early 1960s away from any trains, locomotives and train cars.
“Hilo was definitely not a train town. I attended public schools, joined the Navy after High School and after finishing my tour of duty, returned to Hilo and attended the Hawaii Technical School studying architectural drafting. When I first laid eyes on a model train, it was as a youngster visiting a friend of my Dad’s at Christmas time. I watched in wonder as a Lionel toy train made its circular passes around the Christmas tree. I would lie on the floor with my face cuddled in my hands and watched this toy train whistle and chug its way on the toy track. It looked so real, just like the trains I watched in the Saturday afternoon serials at Mamo Theater. I watched them all and had visions of trains from then on,” said Notley. “I always had a hidden passion for trains, but as an adult, married with a child, I had to concentrate on a career and supporting a family. Trains were put on hold. When I finally retired from HELCO in early 2000, I decided it was time to make my passion for trains come true.”
That’s when Notley said he purchased an older Lionel locomotive and tender manufactured in 1940. After a couple of years, the train broke, and being unable to find anyone in Hilo to fix it, Notley learned to do the repairs himself. Over the years, he has restored a variety of trains, which he has bought and subsequently sold on eBay.
But that didn’t bring Notley to his main goal in model train ownership: to purchase a double engine articulated locomotive and corresponding train cars. Lionel manufactures these articulated trains, but the locomotives alone retail for nearly $1,500 each.
“There went my dream of owning one of these beauties. Time passed and when asked by a friend if I had acquired my articulated locomotive, the answer was definitely a ‘no.’ He then said, ‘Why don’t you build one yourself? You’re good with your hands and you can use your architectural experience to build one,’” Notley said.
On June 1, 2007, he started to build the wooden train with out plans or a kit. Constructed from basswood, the locomotive was built to “O” scale dimensions in three months. That was followed by four freight cars. Years later, in 2013, Notley decided to add five passenger cars, which took seven months to build.
Wailoa Center falls under the auspices of the Department of Land and Natural Resources Division of State Parks. It is free and open to the public from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. The center is closed on Saturdays, Sundays and state holidays.
For more information, call 933-0416 or email wailoa@yahoo.com.
