TECO Model Train Show at Norris Penrose Feb. 28 to Mar. 1

The TECO Model Train Show is running at the Norris Penrose Event Center Feb. 28 and Mar. 1 with show hours Saturday 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Sunday 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Organizers and local listings say the event features more than a dozen layouts spanning all scales, from microscopic-detail modules to a large-scale layout reported at 80 by 40 feet, plus swap-meet-style vendor aisles.

Admission is $10 for adults, $5 for youth ages 13 to 18, and free for children 12 and under; Saturday tickets include Sunday admission. TECO’s listing notes the admission reduction phrased as “Price of admission has been reduced $10/person (no discounts), $5/youth 13-18, and children 12 and under are free.” The NMRA event page adds that Scouts in uniform are free; multiple listings reiterate the Saturday-ticket policy.

More than thirty vendors will occupy the vendor area, with offerings described as traditional model trains in all scales, railroad art, collectibles, tools and kits. TECO names Amber Fuerstenberger as vendor coordinator and Jack Sousa as vendor representative. Exhibitors and groups called out in event listings include the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad, Rocky Mountain Railroad Heritage Society and the Youth in Model Railroading club, and module groups will operate hands-on switch puzzles during the show.

Clinics and demonstrations are on the schedule, including two model-railroading clinics specifically on landscaping and on laser cutting to create buildings and ornate details. Two historical presentations run both days: “Railroads of the Pikes Peak Region” with historian Mel McFarland at 10:30–11:30 a.m., and “Colorado Springs and Cripple Creek District Railroad” with Mike Peck at 1:00–2:00 p.m. TECO materials list modeling clinics and demonstrations as a central part of the show program.

Train Expo Colorado identifies itself as a 100 percent NMRA member club that recently secured 501(c)(3) status and lists its board: Chair and Show Chair Elizabeth Maline, Vice Chair Amber Fuerstenberger, Secretary Mike Maline, Treasurer Glenn Hobbs and Member-at-Large John Emmot. TECO advisors include Mike Peck, Jack Sousa, Kristin Phillips, Mel McFarland and Joe Costa. Elizabeth Maline is quoted in the Gazette: “There are some beautiful layouts. These guys are artists. They really put their heart into recreating the real world on a small scale.”

A notable reporting discrepancy remains about the precise street number for Norris Penrose. TECO and the NMRA list the venue at 945 Lower Gold Camp Road, Colorado Springs 80905, while the Colorado Springs Gazette and PeakRadar list 1045 Lower Gold Camp Road; the Norris Penrose site contains both 945 and 1045 in different scraped lines. The venue phone shown on the Norris Penrose event page is +1-719-635-1101 ext 100 and the page displays “Sorry, registration has ended.” PeakRadar notes no accessibility information is available on its listing.

The Colorado Springs Gazette reported this weekend is “the last TECO Model Train Show in Colorado Springs” and that “TECO (Train Expo Colorado), the club behind the train show, will also disband after the weekend show, unless someone volunteers to take over.” TECO’s own pages confirm the show history since 2007 and the club’s mission to promote model railroading, but the scraped TECO content does not include an explicit disbanding announcement; anyone citing TECO’s future should seek confirmation from TECO or Norris Penrose via the venue phone or TECO’s official website.