YORK COUNTY, Pa. — A York County man is sharing his passion for trains with the community.
"This started with me probably when I was 2 [or] 3 years old," said 19-year-old Nathan Heffner. "It was something I looked at and said, 'I love that.'"
Heffner owns and operates a working four-inch scale model of a Charles Burrell & Company road locomotive from his Wrightsville home.
"It's kind of your early, multi-purpose do-everything. You're generating steam from something stationary. You're generating electricity on a dynamo. You can haul things with it. So, that's part of why I wanted to get this, to have something different," said Heffner.
The locomotive was built in England and transported via ship to Heffner.
"We're kind of used to things showing up here that most kids wouldn't bring home. I knew he had ordered [the steam engine] but I didn't really know exactly what was coming," said Heffner's mom, Sherry.
The delivery took a couple of months, but Heffner knew exactly what he had ordered when a crate the size of a car appeared in the driveway.
"He had told me what it was. I just don't think I had an idea of the magnitude of it," said Sherry Heffner.
"But it's good," she continued. "It's something he loves and it's a good hobby."
Heffner considers his learning process fifty-fifty. He says he taught himself a lot about the steam engine, but also had a lot of people helping him along the way.
"The rule of thumb is for every hour spent running it there's usually about ten hours spent working on it," he explained.
Not to mention, the sight of a 19-year-old operating a fully functioning steam engine is hardly common.
"The first time I drove this up the street I saw more people come out of their houses than I've seen in years around here," said Heffner.
Heffner says there is no replacing the charm of his vehicle.
"It's something that can't be replaced by anything modern. It's different, but it's something I'm happy with doing," he said.
For those interested in following Heffner's journey, his Facebook page, which heavily displays his skill with the steam engine, can be found here.