World Photo by Madeline Steege A circus display at the Charleston Rural Fire Department features a Ferris wheel that really turns.

CHARLESTON — Chugga, chugga, chugga ...

You may think trains in Coos County aren’t running anymore — well they are. The toy trains at the Charleston Rural Fire Department are chugging full speed ahead for the Christmas holiday thanks to Rusty and Debbie Shield.

The department is opening its eighth-annual train display with more than 200 little buildings representing the small towns across Coos County.

Charleston is a fishing village. Coquille has a school with many older homes. Myrtle Point has dairy barns, plus a farmers market. Coos Bay has many dental offices. That’s right; the Shields are looking for a boardwalk for Coos Bay. North Bend has a casino and a theater and much more if you let your imagination take you on a fairy tale trip on a train around the county.

The display is open from 6 to 10 nightly through Christmas Eve. Last year, more than 6,000 people attended the train display at the department’s Cape Arago Highway fire hall. 

If the building’s dark, don’t leave. Come right in. The lights in the train room are turned off so visitors can see the displays better. There will be an open sign on the door to welcome visitors to the Shields’ spectacular train display. There is no cost to get in, but the couple is accepting donations, which help cover the cost of batteries and the apple juice, coffee and cookies served to every guest.

The Shields add a few new scenes to the train exhibition each year, and they figure they have about $15,000 of their own money invested in the display.

“This community has been good to us and it’s our way of repaying the community,” Rusty said.