How to go
What: Train display
When: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Dec. 7, 8, 14 and 15
Where: 3088 Oxford-Millville Road, Oxford
Cost:$10 for adults and $5 for for children
Train display dimensions
Track length: 6,800
Trains: 43
Buildings: 1,050
Cars/tricks: 1,500
Streets: 450 feet
Sidewalks, curbs and gutters: 550 feet
Drwall mud to build mountains: 24oo pounds
OXFORD — Every train that is in Ned Hoelzer’s annual holiday display has raised about $1,000 for charity. That may not sound like much, but Hoelzer has 43 trains in his display, meaning it has raised more than $60,000 for multiple sclerosis and other causes.
The display opens for its seventh year next month, running 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Dec. 7, 8, 14 and 15 at 3088 Oxford-Millville Road, near Marshall Elementary School. The cost is $10 for adults and $5 for for children.
The event started seven years ago as a benefit for multiple sclerosis. The problem was, they needed to raise $6,000. So Judy Ramsey, who works with charities to benefit those with multiple sclerosis, approached Hoelzer about opening his display for public view.
“I have no idea if we’ll make $500 or we’re just really going to try to make the six grand. And that first year, we ended up making $12,000,” Ramsey said.
That’s because Hoelzer’s display isn’t just any train set. It has more than 6,800 feet of track, with more than 1,000 buildings that light up. Moreover, many of the set pieces have moving parts, from Dumbo flying in circles, to skiers sliding down a hill to dancers twirling inside a building.
Hoelzer, a lifelong model railroad enthusiast, started building the display in 2004 and took three and a half years to complete it. It’s so large, he never takes it down, Indeed, he doesn’t add much to the display because it’s packed as it is, he said.
“I don’t have room for anything. I usually try to replace things that don’t move with things that move. I did get a new roller coaster that I put up. It’s really a neat thing,” he said. “The train layout is about 40 by 65 (feet).”
And even beyond that is the detail work. There are 1,500 automobiles, 450 feet of streets, and more than 550 feet of sidewalks, curbs and gutters.
His favorite part of the train set is the carnival area because “it makes a lot of noise and it has the dodge ‘em cars and Ferris wheels,” he said.
And the attractions at Hoelzer’s house don’t stop with the trains.
“When we approached Ned, we said just the trains were amazing. But he’s kind enough to open his house as well, with sports memorabilia and a very large art collection as well,” said Ramsey.
The first weekend of the event benefits families living with multiple sclerosis and The Christian Coop Nursery School, and the second weekend benefits Bethel AME Church to honor the late basketball coach Charlie Coles and the Christian Coop Nursery School.
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