Sat Feb 11 2012
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Frankfort Face: Mel Trivette
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His childhood fascination with toy trains eventually led Mel Trivette to a career as an electrician.
“I was always into fixing things, building, taking it apart and finding out what made them work,” Mel said. “Most of the time I put it back together, but I won’t say all the time.”
Mel, 51, was first exposed to toy trains and electronics at age 3 in 1961 when he received a Lionel train set for Christmas. The kit had an engine, several cars, a small track and an electric transformer.
He set it up on the kitchen table with his grandfather and quickly began improving his collection. His grandfather mounted the track on plywood, and Mel began adding electric signals, switches and crossing gates.
“From that point, that’s all I ever wanted for Christmas and my birthdays,” Mel said.
His inquisitive nature led him to tinker with the trains, control boards and electric accessories. Mel graduated from Franklin County High School in 1977 and studied to become an electrician at an Ohio vocational school.
He was an independent electrician for 18 years then became an inspector for county government.
Today, his train collection has grown to include more than 600 feet of track, 1,000 engines and hundreds of cars. About 900 square feet in his basement is reserved for the collection.
Some of his collection includes antique kits and modern sets based on real trains that run through Lexington.
His electric control box can switch tracks remotely, increase or decrease power to sections of the track and control multiple trains at once.
“It’s not as complicated as it looks once you understand it,” Mel said.
Some of his favorites include a Chesapeake and Ohio train that ran to Russell, Ky., and a Norfolk and Western J-class engine – “one of the most powerful of its time,” he said.
Toy train popularity has grown since new manufacturers began producing kits in the 1970s, Mel said. Now there are new sets and new catalogues every year.
Mel has attended large swap meets in Indiana, Ohio, Arkansas and Virginia. The largest, a three-day swap meet in Pennsylvania, attracts about 15,000.
“The closest way to describe it is to imagine the indoor facility of the Kentucky State Fair filled with trains,” Mel said.
He also loves seeing the power and size of real locomotives up close and sometimes takes his sons and nephews to rail yards in Danville or the old Union terminal in Cincinnati.
Another way he shares his interest is by setting up his trains for display in shopping malls or at events.
His biggest event is the Candlelight Tour when he sets up several trains at the Thomas D. Clark Center for Kentucky History. About 1,800 visited his display a few weeks ago.
“Their eyes light up,” he said of typical reactions.
Mel hopes trains may one day become a bigger part of American life. He’s excited about plans to introduce a tourism train for dining and shopping excursions in central Kentucky.
With the new focus on green energy, trains may become a popular form of transportation again, he said.
“I think more communities will look at light rail systems,” he guessed. “We can’t just keep building interstates.”
“Frankfort Faces” is a series that highlights people from within the Frankfort and Franklin County community. Each feature follows one of the city’s most unique personalities and includes a story, photos and video, which can be found by clicking the TV icon attached to the story online at state-journal.com.
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