Hobbyist Stays On Track -- Chugging Along The Line In Bellevue Railroad Buff's Back Yard

BELLEVUE

Some people never grow old. Dale Martin is proof of that. At 73 he still loves trains, so much so that he has made his back yard into a railroad station.

Martin's love of trains is evident throughout his house. At the base of steps leading to the front door is a rusty railroad tie inscribed with the year 1887. The house's interior is decorated with a lifetime of collected railroad memorabilia:

Lanterns used on trains sit on shelves. Paintings of trains which Martin has painted himself hang on the walls. A headlight from an old steam engine hangs over a bed in a spare bedroom.

Step outside, and Martin's back yard is circled by a miniature-train track with a scaled-down version of a steam engine, boxcar and caboose.

The boxcar is designed for a person to sit on. From there the operator can lean forward and use a lever in the steam engine to control the speed. The engine comes complete with bell and whistle. Its boiler holds 2 gallons of water and takes about 15 minutes to warm up, making all the sounds of a real steam engine.

Martin also has built a bright red electric engine for children to ride, modeled after the 1920s tin-plated trains kids used to collect. While the steam engine becomes hot, and the operator needs to control the speed around corners and down slopes, the electric engine goes one speed, making it easier for children to ride.

Martin's back yard also features an authentic railroad-crossing sign and a stoplight. He has rigged the stoplight so that the light changes when the train reaches certain parts of the track.

Martin's backyard train has been running for more than 30 years and is the result of about seven years of off-and-on work to construct it.

He finds memorabilia through a network of other collectors. When another collector finds something they think Martin might want, they contact him and offer to sell.

Trains have been an interest since his parents gave him his first locomotive when he was a child. Some of that love of trains managed to rub off on his oldest son, Leo Martin, who became a railroad historian.

A Boeing engineer for 20 years, Martin went back to school and earned his teaching degree from the University of Washington. He taught physics at Sammamish High School until he retired in 1985.

He and his wife, Leila, have lived in their Bellevue home near Robinswood for 40 years. Years ago when there were more children in the neighborhood, the backyard engines were a favorite draw, Martin said.

"Used to be I'd blow the whistle and kids would come from everywhere," he said.

On occasion he will call the children who still live in the neighborhood when he takes the train out for a ride.

Martin enjoys repairing old machinery (anything "big and dirty"), and he and his wife volunteer at the Issaquah Historical Society, which is in the process of repairing a steam donkey discarded 60 years ago. He also collects and repairs old radios, and belongs to an amateur radio group.

"Everybody should have toys," Martin said. "The more the better."