All aboard the "Victory Creek Railroad"

Last Thursday, The Denmark News ventured out to Allouez to get an up-close look at a longtime Denmark area resident's meticulous model hobby creations which pay homage to his hometown. For a while now, I have heard of an extensive and unique model railroad located in Vic and Kathryn Kapinos's basement that contains familiar sights from the greater Denmark-Maribel area. When the opportunity arose to see it for myself, I grabbed my camera and made my way to their home in Allouez.

I met with Vic and his partner in trains--Wayne Hessil--at the site of the "Victory Creek Railroad" in Vic's basement. Before showing me the massive setup, Vic provided me with an overview of how it came to be. The hobby railroad traces its roots to the COVID-19 Pandemic in 2020 when Vic, like so many others, was looking for something to do while stuck inside. "I got a couple of boxes of trains as a present," Vic says, and after setting up a small layout on sawhorses with his grandson, his interest in HO scale model trains soon began to grow. 

Vic says he started talking with his son, Matt, about how they could expand the project and "make it interesting". From there, Vic says, "It just sort of grew." His first building model came from his daughter, Julie, and was a factory which inspired the direction of the layout. After considering what to feature on their layout, they decided to construct a model of the Chicago Northwestern Railroad which Vic says was the "train of my childhood". They decided to feature environments that modeled features of the line's passage from Manitowoc, through Maribel and into Denmark.

With this vision in mind, they set to work. Matt served as the "Grandmaster Overlord" with tasks including engineering, wiring, layout designing and art directing. Vic says his son "put his art to use on the table". Vic's wife, Kathryn, was the project's "Head Painter and Construction Expert" who put all the buildings together with a tiny glue applicator and painstakingly painted them with miniscule features. Vic says he was the "Co-financer and Model Rock Creator" and shows us his small molds for making rock features as well as his box filled with molded rocks. 

The display is built on large pieces of medium density fiber board with two-inch insulation being sculpted and painted for other features. They learned their techniques from model railroad magazines as well as by watching YouTube videos. Wayne joined the venture a couple of years ago and now meets with Vic to work on the setup every Thursday afternoon. Wayne had the idea to add on to the setup bringing it from 114 to 135 square feet by constructing a new section featuring a saw mill.

It was then time to see the legendary setup. After flipping some switches for lights, Vic adjusted settings on an iPad that serves as the railroad’s controls and the trains came to life. Vic and Wayne then gave us the full tour explaining its features and pointing out hidden details. The trainline starts in Manitowoc with models representing a number of iconic buildings as well as model people interacting with the surroundings. Vic explains each area is its own "scene", and a lot of thought went into each tiny detail.

After leaving Manitowoc, the train crosses a replica of the Devils River which Vic calls a "masterpiece". Across the bridge is some "country stuff" with a replica of Vic's childhood home and farm on County Highway NN as well as Fels Ready-Mix Plant and St. Mary's Catholic Church in Stark. The church's cemetery features a cross made by Vic's father as well as a tiny version of Vic's own tombstone. After passing through a tunnel which is covered in handmade trees, the train arrives in a small town setting which is a fusion of the Maribel and Denmark of Vic's childhood. There are many familiar sights including the Maribel Grain Company, Hickory Grove School, Suster's Pavilion and Arcade and Dufeck Manufacturing complete with a yellow caboose in front. After leaving the small town, the train crosses the Devils River again on another suspension bridge before arriving back in the miniature Manitowoc. 

Vic says the model setup has "provided us several years of enjoyment in just doing it" and calls the layout a "community project". The massive model is truly a sight to behold, and the tiny details are all but endless. We would like to express our sincere gratitude to Vic and Wayne for meeting with us and giving us an up-close look at their hometown hobby.