Little by little, the railroad is moving.

The Tamaqua Anthracite Model Railroad Club has found a new, larger location.The club is taking its panoramic, HO-gauge train display from the basement level of the former Masonic Temple, 139 W. Broad St., and lugging each piece and each board to the second floor inside the same building.The new location includes three large rooms, allowing the club to create two different displays, one 12 by 24 feet, the other 12 by 16.“We started in July. We’ll have two separate layouts,” said train enthusiast John Shucavage, 16, of Tamaqua, a member since 2011.Like other members, Shucavage said his interest in railroadiana was piqued at an early age.“My father used to have them set up for Christmas,” he said. “I got bitten by the model railroad bug and here I am.”Shucavage said the group has about 14 members, but only about half are available to show up at meetings. Some live far away and others work a shift that precludes them from attending the evening sessions.President Frank Huegel of South Tamaqua said the move from the basement is important.“There was dampness down there and the stairway was narrow,” he said.Moving the layout is proving to be a slow process.“We had to tear it apart to move it. We salvaged what we could,” Huegel said.The platforms are being reconstructed in two large rooms, then will be connected.“There will be two railroads,” said Huegel. “One will be freelance and one historical. We have a member who has all of the blueprints and track lines from the 1930s.”Huegel said excitement is building for the new display, which will include a section that replicates highlights of the Reading Railroad.“It’s a work in progress. It’s going to go from Hometown to Reading,” he said, adding that it will focus on the 1940s-50s time frame.“That’s the beginning of the diesel era,” he said. “By next fall, I’d like to at least have the framework done.”Tamaqua was a rail hub, something club members often discuss.“There were 21 tracks down by the sewage plant,” said Huegel, explaining that he’d like to see the layout include what was once a local icon in architectural engineering — the Tamaqua Roundhouse, a building long gone.“I want to put the Roundhouse in Tamaqua,” Huegel said.A Boston native, Huegel spent 20 years in the U.S. Navy’s Heavy Attack Air Squadron, which included three deployments to Vietnam, Cuba and the South Pacific. The extensive travel help Huegel, a machinist, to cultivate his interest in railroads, ships and aircraft. However, it was trains that captured his imagination.“I’ve seen trains all over the world. I’m fascinated by steam trains,” he said.He went on to work for 14 years at Bath Iron Works in Maine after retiring from the military.He built his first display while serving in the military in 1960.The former display in the basement was begun in 1993 when Paul Kern served as the club’s first president.It was later expanded to include mountains, lakes and tunnels to replicate those typically seen in northeastern Pennsylvania.Club members used imagination and a variety of raw materials to create the various scenes in the display.The panorama includes real coal and rocks, Sheetrock, plaster of Paris cloth, Styrofoam, wood glue to build mountains and valleys, and even roofing ice and snow shield to create roads.The club welcomes young members including those with interest in all gauges, not only HO. Sponsors are also being sought to keep the club alive.In addition, those interested in scenery, design, carpentry or any related field are welcome to become active with the project and the club.The shared passion of model railroads bonds the members and provides countless hours of enjoyment.The nonprofit group meets Thursdays from 6 to 8 p.m. at the former Masonic Temple. The 1925 building is a strong contributing resource to the Tamaqua National Historic District and believed to be the only Egyptian Revival-style building in the region.More information is available at 570-386-2517 or 570-778-2104.