A historic scale model train from the House of David’s Eden Springs Amusement Park is finding a new home in South Haven. The Michigan Flywheelers Museum will be the recipient of House of David Engine #902, courtesy of the Hanson Family Foundation.
Berrien County Industrialist Merlin Hanson and his brother/business associate Russ Hanson acquired two of the three Eden Springs steam engines and related railroad gear almost 20 years ago. They vowed to keep the House of David artifacts in the area, but that proved to be a bigger challenge than the Hanson’s expected. A group of volunteers, coordinated by Russ Hanson, has been working regularly for years to restore the trains to original, operating condition. One of the scale model steam engines was completed and is now on display in the lobby of the Hanson Technology Center at Lake Michigan College in Benton Township.
The other engine and several matching cars have now been restored and the Hanson’s have worked out a deal with the Michigan Flywheelers Museum for a permanent, operating display.
“We were caught totally by surprise,” says Patrick Ingalls, museum president. “When Russ said the Hanson family would like to give us the House of David train, we almost couldn’t believe it.” Ingalls heads up the museum which is dedicated to the preservation of antique engines and tractors.
Russ Hanson & Patrick Ingalls
Ingalls says “To say we are thrilled is an understantement. This is such a great gift to the museum that I can’t even express how grateful we are. The addition of this train will take our museum to a whole different level of expansion, and will be phenomenal asset to the South Haven area.”
The exact schedule for the installation of the engine and train cars has not been finalized. The Flywheelers will announce an opening celebration event when it’s complete. The museum is located at 06285 68th Street, South Haven, MI 49090
Learn more about the Flywheelers at www.michiganflywheelers.org
