In the basement of Coopersburg Borough Hall sits a work in progress--3500 feet of model train track with a landscape rising around it.

The model train display is the work of the Coopersburg Area Society of Model Engineers. The group is an amalgam of the East Penn Model Railroad Club, which was formerly located in Emmaus, and the Bux-Mont Model Engineers from Quakertown.

Now known as C.A.S.M.E., the model train enthusiasts meet every Tuesday to work on the railroad.

The layout of the display is constructed in H.O. scale, which is 1:87 full size. When completed, there will be more than 100 train switches and 58 scale miles of track (3500 feet).

The entire display is run by a dispatcher at a computer terminal who can speed up, slow down and blow the whistles on any train running on the tracks. All the engineers are equipped with radio phones, which they use to call in directions to the dispatcher.

The display, which has been a work in progress since 2004, will be open to the public, noon to 5 p.m. Jan. 15 and 16. Admittance is free, but donations are appreciated.

The engineers still have much work to do before the project is complete, but until then, the public can watch each year to see how it progresses.