Someone You Should Know: Model Railroader Art Bobis
(CBS) – There are model train enthusiasts with little setups in their basements.
And then there is Arthur Bobis.
CBS 2's Harry Porterfield says he is someone you should know.
The year was 1975. You may not remember it, but Art Bobis does, in a very unusual way.
In commemoration, he has put together a visual scenario that covers nearly every inch of the basement in his Northbrook home.
"I visited a model railroad show about 25 or 30 years ago. I was impressed with what the people had done, and I did a lot of traveling in my job," Bobis explains. "I went to a lot of cities around the U.S., some of them quite picturesque, and I thought it would be kind of a fun idea to develop a railroad that connected all of those cities to each other."
The influence of six towns he visited can be seen here. It is summer time, and so even little people who are figures in a display head to the golf course and the beach or play volley ball.
One of the most impressive parts of this display is a parade so intricate that you can almost hear music.
Bobis says people typically are stunned by his creation.
"I do say I have a model train set in the basement and they do expect that I will have some Lionel trains running around a Christmas tree" he says. "It's not like that."
On one of the three levels of the display, it is nighttime at a train station. Even twilight has its day here.
"I have a great deal of fun doing this," Bobis says. "It was a great tension release. If I had a rough week, worried about couple of problems, I can use my hands and think of the problems at the same time."
