DECATUR - Jim Hess worked as a telegraph operator and station agent for the Illinois Central Railroad for 25 years.

For much of his career, he was a traveling agent, selling tickets in four towns in Eastern Iowa, including Dyersville, where he now lives.

Hess, 84, stopped working for the railroad 40 years ago, but the howl of the train whistle and the rumble of the locomotive left an indelible impression on him.

The train enthusiast and his wife, Bette, spend almost every weekend at railroad shows, surrounded by pieces of his former life. He carries with him an array of train gear, including telegraph keys and sounders, locks and keys that secure track switching levers, switch lights and lanterns and railroad timetables.

Then there's the antique black phone without a dial, stamped with a 1909 patent, with a hole for a mouthpiece and a scissors mechanism to attach it to the wall. One could imaging Hess picking up that receiver at a station on a wintry night to tell his bride he would have to work late because the train was nowhere in sight.

Every piece has a price tag on it, but that isn't the point.

"It gives us something to do," said Bette Hess, a retired schoolteacher. "You don't want to sit around and think about all the things that could be wrong with you."

The couple has traveling down to a science. They stay at motels that offer a free night's stay after paying for a few nights at other stops in the same chains.

This weekend, they are at the Decatur Train Fair. Last weekend, they were at a show in Chicago, and next week, they are going to Green Bay, Wis.

The Hesses, who covered four tables with their wares, are among 40 vendors at the Decatur Civic Center this weekend.

This is the first time the Decatur fair is being held in the spring. It has been presented annually in the fall or summer at the Civic Center since 1991.

Trains

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David and Mary Traxler are members of the Decatur, Mount Zion and Southern Model Railroad Club, which organizes the event. David Traxler said club members decided to hold two fairs this year because of the high demand for vending booths.

David Traxler said more than half the vendors are from outside the state, including two from New York. About 2,000 train lovers attend the show each year.

Surrounded by hundreds of Lionel cars, Chuck Kuhns of Springfield reminisced on how he first became obsessed with model trains.

"I had two uncles and a grandfather who worked for the railroad in Hannibal, Mo.," Kuhns said. "They all set up trains at Christmas; that got me started."

In 1940, when he was 4, Kuhns received his first train set.

"When I had a paper route, I spent all my money on trains," Kuhns said.

He collected more and more cars and never stopped. He proudly takes out photographs of his basement, which has shelves on every inch of wall space, all packed with model train cars. Of course, the floor holds an elaborate train setup.

"I've run out of room," Kuhns said.

Huey Freeman can be reached at hfreeman@herald-review.com or 421-6985.