“I Got Things I Wanna Do”
Building DeBoom Town
By Mari Radtke
We all have that list. I want to…. Some refer to it as a “bucket list.” Jim DeBoom of rural O’Brien County is busy checking off activities from that list.
Last week DeBoom invited me into his home to show me his train room. That is not an exaggeration. One whole room in the basement is dedicated to his “O” scale railroad set up.
DeBoom was given a small electric train one Christmas when he was 8 or 9 years old. That train set is proudly displays in shelves he has put up in the basement alter-reality. He has shelves of displayed locomotive cars throughout his hide-away. DeBoom even still has the boards and tracks of that first “HO” scale train.
DeBoom, now in his 80’s survived a bout with COVID-19 back in 2021. He spent 3 days in the hospital and many weeks recovering. During his recovery he realized how precious time is. That’s when he realized that there are things he wants to do. One of those things was to build the “O” scale railroad town of his dreams. Can we call it DeBoom Town?
The project started more than a year ago with the emptying of the basement room at the family farm. Following was the construction of the 8’x20’ base where the town and railroad is built. The working trains and all of the working accessories are impressive to a stunning extent.
He handmade the parking spaces and the street that gives definition to the homes and commercial districts of his railroad town surrounded by operational tracks.
Rail cars are purchased at shows and on ebay. The same is true for the many accessories he has incorporated into his community. Several different rail activities operate in DeBoom Town. Remember the “double circle coop?” It is still there at DeBoom Town. The working elevator sits with grain cars lined up and ready to accept a load of grain. The spur connects into the rest of the working system. DeBoom Town has a place to accept the coal needed to power the town and keep the homes and businesses warm and powered. A working cattle load/offload gate literally moves the cattle on and off of the rail car. The rail yard is vibrant with other working accessories like milk cans and barrels.
DeBoom Town operates from 3 transformers. Each will operate 4 trains. The town and many of the accessories light up as well as move. Jim did all of the wiring himself.
A recent addition is a model wind turbine. It’s not the newest model, but it does look just like the turbines erected south of Peterson at the beginning of the wind-power boom.
Despite having so many working displays on DeBoom Town, Jim is not finished. He is planning the construction of a mountain on one corner. The arched bridges for the trains are already in place. One the mountain is complete the turbine will take a permanent place at the top. Jim is considering what else will be fun to put at the top of DeBoom Town. A cabin? A house? Maybe. It’s up to Jim how DeBoom Town gets built.