Coupeville resident Jack Tingstad may have never worked on the railroad but he sure likes trains — model trains that is.

Walking into a room in his home, a visitor discovers nearly 200 feet of track winding its way around a hand-crafted, Colorado landscape. Cars on the train wend their way through mountains, towns and over trestles.

Tingstad has been working on his railroad land scape for the past seven years.

“I just take a little section at a time,” Tingstad said.

And he likes to show off his work. He is inviting the public to see his trains when he hosts an open house the weekend after Thanksgiving. This will be the fourth year in which he’s held such an open house.

Tingstad based his landscape on central Colorado, which is a popular subject for model railroad enthusiasts.

He chose the area because of the mountains involved. One aspect he showed off was a scale model replica of the Glenwood Springs, Colo. train station.

The landscape, titled “Cloud City and Western” provides a snapshot of rural Colorado in the early 20th century, when the rough-and-tumble wild west was changing into a society with the conveniences of automobiles and electricity.

Glancing at the landscape one notices a variety of scenes ranging from horse-drawn carriages traveling on a road along with cars, workers loading milk and a chain gang working near the tracks.

With the room nearly surrounded by railroad, Tingstad doesn’t have a lot of room to add on. However, he is able to put additional details into his project. Those details could be a new building or some additional plants to add a touch of realism to the landscape.

A mural made out of Masonite provides a seamless backdrop for the railroad. He used casting plaster for the mountains. He also designed and built the electrical system that powers the trains.

“Scenery and wiring are two favorite parts of the hobby,” Tingstad said.

Up to five trains can travel on the tracks at the same time, which allows for a group of people can use it.

Just having friends use the trains isn’t enough for Tingstad. Before he retired from teaching in the 1990s, Tingstad would often bring in his students from Coupeville Elementary School to see his trains. He often gets visits from day care children and Boy Scouts.

He recently received national recognition when “Cloud City and Western” was featured in a national model railroad magazine. Then, last summer, people participating at a model railroad convention drove from Seattle to see Tingstad’s work.

Last year, between 150 and 200 people showed up to his home for his annual holiday open house.

The open house is from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 27 and Sunday, Nov. 28.

The Tingstand home is at 508 Broadway St., in Coupeville.