LI ‘train masters’ on board for biggest show yet with infamous ‘Sopranos’ setpiece: ‘The original bloodstains are still there’
They trained over a year for this.
A Long Island model train club is all aboard for its largest-sized open house, having spent 16 months crafting a 6,500-square-foot display — placed alongside an iconic, blood-splattered set piece from “The Sopranos.”
“It’s gotten bigger and better than ever … I’m putting in 30 hours a week here,” Steve Scagnelli, president of the Train Masters of Babylon, told The Post.
The 70-member strong TMB transformed a vast basement in the Upper Room Church of Dix Hills into a hobbyist’s paradise where new and old model trains buzz by towering skyscrapers from New York City, oil refineries of the New Jersey Turnpike, the Horseshoe Curve of Pennsylvania and several other landmarks.
The tireless passion project, which runs around $100,000, will be on display at no charge for an estimated 700 newcomers this Saturday and Sunday afternoon before shifting back into “work mode” for another year of set design.
“We’ve got two main lines running up to three trains, two more branch lines on top of that, and beneath the display, we have a special subway system running up to four at a time,” Scagnelli, a founding member from 1994, said.
“There’s lots of clever things there, too. One bridge is made out of a former member’s picnic table, a water tower on display made out of a tuna can, and one train with some Lego figures on it.”
The TMB faced one of its biggest challenges before the project even got going: moving to a facility nearly double the size of its old Farmingdale outpost once their lease ran out.
After clearing out the new digs — filling up nine dumpsters of garbage in the church’s basement as an all-hands-on-deck project — the group began construction on the most extensive display it has ever made.
“It took a month alone just to create the layout and electrical engineering before we could even begin with the trains,” added Scagnelli. “People have worked on this four days a week since we started.”
However, nobody is going off the rails.
“It really is a labor of fun,” member Fred Jones said. “We get to play with our trains as we work.”
Scagnelli also maintains that the hobby is not “nerdy.” He proudly shared that Frank Sinatra was an avid collector, and Rod Stewart has an extensive display.
“It’s not just a bunch of overweight old men who just forgot to put the trains away after Christmas,” he joked.
A ‘Sopranos’ hit piece
When entering, guests will first see a part of TV and, inadvertently, model train history.
The club proudly showcases the actual display that Steve Schirripa’s Bobby Baccalieri character was whacked in front of during “Blue Comet,” the epic and chilling penultimate episode of “The Sopranos.”
The president explained that HBO had given that setpiece and a backup version to a train club in New Jersey with whom the TMB is very friendly. About a decade ago, they negotiated a trade to acquire the real one used in the riveting scene.
“I couldn’t get to New Jersey fast enough,” Scagnelli, a confessed “Sopranos nut,” said.
He believes it is fitting that the sacred Soprano relic returned to LI, since the symbolic scene was shot inside Lynbrook’s TrainLand store.
As an homage, the TMB runs a replica Blue Comet miniature railroad that Bobby was in the process of buying when he met his fate.
“We did have to retrofit some pieces because when Bobby Bacala was executed, he fell onto the layout and destroyed a few things,” Scagnelli added.
“But the original bloodstains are still there … ironically, it’s a kid-favorite because they can push buttons and control things on the display. But they have no clue about its incredible history — some parents might, however.”
