DANVILLE (WSLS 10) - Preparations are for the weekend's Old 97 Rail Days at the Danville Science Center.
Train hobbyists from up and down the East Coast spent all day Friday setting up their models.
The annual event is held close to September 27 to commemorate the wreck of the Old 97 mail train just outside Danville in 1903 that killed 11 people.
The center's executive director, Adam Goebel, said this event is a great way to help get children interested in exploring science.
"There's a lot of science behind trains," Goebel emphasized. "So, kids not only get to see the trains moving, in action, they get to understand how that's happening and relate those types of experiences to something that we can offer in our exhibit galleries."
John Wallice has been coming to the event ever since it was first held in 2003 and says he looks forward to it every year.
"It's as much of a social event for us as it is running trains, but we enjoy it," Wallice said.
The event takes place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday.