With a painted pale blue sky and a rail that wraps around each wall, the train room at Scott Chaddock’s house is where he spends a lot of his time lately.
“He comes down here and he’s in his own little world when he’s running trains,” said Chaddock’s mother, Wanda Ferguson. “Scott’s had trains since he was 18 months old.”
The train room makeover was made possible by the Sunshine Foundation – an organization that specializes in fulfilling custom-made dreams for people with special needs.
“Every part is my favourite,” said Chaddock about his train room.
Twenty-one-year-old Chaddock’s original wish was to go to an aquarium in Clearwater, Fla., but that was cancelled because of the pandemic.
His next wish was for a train-themed makeover for the basement.
That’s where Dave Stredulminsky and Fergus Francey, members of the Dartmouth Model Railway Club, came in.
During the pandemic, the pair would make the 45-minute drive at least twice a week to put the room together.
Conservatively, they estimate it took over 500 hours to finish.
“It’s wonderful,” said Stredulimsky. “Especially when we finally finished it and he was able to run trains and see the big smile on his face, it was great.”
The train room project served a second purpose for Francey.
“It helped me get through COVID,” he said. “It’s one of those bright stars, just something to focus on. Get away from thinking about what’s going on and I’m grateful to be part of it.”
Some materials for the room were donated by Maritime Hobbies and Craft. The rest were sold to the builders at cost.
