In 1944, Glen LaFountain rode a train from Maryland to Seattle, where he caught a naval ship bound for Hawaii.

The steam engine train had few amenities.

"It took five days and we slept in our seats," said LaFountain, who was a radio operator in the U.S. Navy during World War II. "Every so often it stopped and we'd go to the boxcar for sandwiches."

From Hawaii, LaFountain boarded a Navy destroyer that carried him to Okinawa, Japan.

But it is the train trip that he recalls most fondly.

"I've always liked trains ever since," LaFountain said Wednesday, standing beside a 6-foot-long wooden model train engine that he built from scratch last year.

The model is being displayed in the foyer of the Enfield Senior Center.

LaFountain, 78, of Enfield, has built four other model locomotives over the past five years.

He normally keeps the models inside his garage. A neighbor recently suggested he share his talents by displaying the models at the Senior Center.

Susan Lather, center director, said the model trains have caused a buzz.

"We are proud to display them," she said. "The effort he put into them is amazing. People are commenting on how beautiful they are."

At first glance, it seems impossible that the trains are entirely made of wood.

The intricate detail around the black-painted wheels and suspension gleams as if made of metal.

LaFountain, who worked 25 years as a welder and maintenance supervisor for the Buckeye pipeline, spends about 200 hours building the model locomotives.

He uses a router to craft the details along the model's wheels. Beveled strips of poplar form the curve locomotive's front end and roof.

LaFountain, who retired from the pipeline in 1992, says painting the trains takes patience.

"I don't swear," he said. "But I do an awful lot of swearing under my breath while making these."

His former hobby was making furniture, which he'd give to his children and grandchildren.

He switched gears a few years ago, teaching himself how to build the model trains.

A large picture book of train engines provides a starting point.

"My wife says I live in my own little world," he said. "When I go into the garage, I lose myself. Nothing else matters. I lose myself."

LaFountain plans to rotate a different train at the Senior Center each week.

Next week, he'll display an 8-foot-long diesel engine with a fancy purple, white, and orange paint job.

"That's a pretty one," he said.