WASHINGTON — The first gift the Rev. Lou Showers remembers receiving was a train. It was a push-type toy train, but it helped inspire his interest in the railroad and model trains.

“I’ve been in trains ever since I can remember,” he said, adding that he regularly loses himself in his hobby.

Currently, he has a model railroad layout in his basement with 200 feet of track and approximately 80 cars, engines and cabooses. There also are model houses, factories, other businesses, bridges, cars, trees, animals, and people. Some of the buildings even include working lights and tiny people. Showers said he makes as much of the scenery as he can, but he’s purchased some and received a lot as gifts.

“You can buy kits over the Internet,” he said, explaining he often buys Christmas village pieces when they go on sale after the holiday to use in his setup. “Some kits are more elaborate than others. It depends on how much you want to get into it and how much you want to spend.”

But crafting the layout’s buildings and landscaping is part of the enjoyment Showers derives from the hobby. He uses stuffing, “blended turf” and “clump foliage,” Styrofoam, and sheet rock mud to create hills, tunnels, trees and other landscape features.

“I really get into making things look as real as possible,” Showers said. “There’s a difference between toy trains and model trains. The main difference is with model trains the goal is to try to get as close to the real thing as possible.”

But he stops at preparing bills of lading, schedules and the other details of a real railroad.

“Some guys do it like it’s for real,” he said. “I designed mine so the trains go around and around.”

However, Showers’ train does represent the railroad he grew up near in western New York — the Erie Lakawanna.

“The place we moved to also had the Erie Lakawanna running through it, so when I got into it I decided I wanted to follow this railroad,” he said. “Most hobbyists who get into it usually get into one or two railroads and a specific time period.”

Showers’ model railroad is an HO, or 1:87 scale, the most popular size. In other words, it’s 1/87th the size of the original. In model railroading, the term “scale” is used to describe the model’s size in proportion to the original. “Gauge” describes the measurement between the rails. There also are narrow-gauge models, designated with an “n,” which allow for tighter curves in smaller spaces.

“A lot of guys who are into this hobby are into the scale models because they look real,” Showers said. “About 75 to 80 percent are into HO. I’ve been working on HO 30 years.”

There are several sizes of model railroads, and Showers said there are basically six available today.

In contrast to model trains, toy trains might have cars with themes, such as ones with an Indianapolis Colts logo. The Grace Baptist Church pastor said those trains tend to have few cars and run fast. Model trains go a bit slower, he said, and can pull considerably more cars.

Early electric model railroads had tracks with three rails, and the middle rail provided the power. Showers’ HO model is controlled with a power pack.

“Some run by remote control and have sound and smoke,” he said, describing some newer conventions.

Showers said model railroading is the most popular hobby in the world. It’s especially prevalent in the United States, Europe and Australia, he said, but is growing in popularity in China and other countries. Although favored primarily by men, he said some women also get involved.

“It often can be a family affair,” Showers said.

He said his family isn’t as interested in it as he is, although his wife, Wanita, sometimes helps him with painting. His son, Jason, 30, likes to put together model cars, and his daughter, Meredith, 27, enjoys building doll houses and furnishing them.

“There are not a lot of people around here in this hobby,” Showers said. “I think it’s really sad. I’d rather see kids do this instead of video games. It teaches them to do wiring, construction and problem solving.”

He’ll share his love of the hobby with anyone interested during this year’s Rail Fest. Showers will open his basement May 13 from noon to 5 p.m. and May 14 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. His daughter also will have two doll houses on display.