Distinctly Montana Magazine

D I S T I N C T LY M O N TA N A • W I N T E R 2 0 1 8 68 Boyish curiosity and an early fascina- tion with trains led him to the wreckage. His earliest memories include playing with wind-up train sets and buying a red caboose to start his first model train collection. Hall, 70, is still obsessed with trains today. A custom-built train diorama fills an entire room in his basement and is controlled by an working locomotive control panel. Train memorabilia is piled high in each corner of an adjacent room. Railroad signs, lights, countless model trains of all sizes (or gauges), and dozens of framed train puzzles and photos cluster every inch of the walls. He even has a bench from the train station in Glendive, the town where he now lives with his wife, Dee. eir front yard is a local landmark, where Hall hand-built a full-size caboose along with a miniature locomotive. It took him about five years to make the caboose using scavenged and donated parts. Neighboring the caboose is his garage, which houses his other steel obsessions—Volkswagens. He owns a restored Volkswagen Bus from 1970, the same year he was married to his wife, and two Volkswagen Beetles. In another basement room, Hall displays his other vehicles. Hundreds of toy cars that vary in size hang from the walls in their original packaging or sit neatly on shelves. One special 1970 Beetle that topped his wedding cake sits behind glass. Hall's VW passion began in the late 60s when he worked for the German automotive giant, driving cars between dealerships. He loved it and after seven years, he started troubleshooting fuel injec- tion systems as a mechanic. BY MATTHEW WEBER The red Volkswagon toy was the topper on Hall's wedding cake. In Hall's front yard sit two custom-built train cars. Hall in one of several rooms dedicated to his train collection. I N 1951, A LOCOMOTIVE WAS ON ITS WAY THROUGH SELBY, SOUTH DAKOTA, TO RESCUE A DERAILED BOXCAR. e crane it was pulling was too tall and destroyed a highway overpass, sending concrete crashing down on the cab. Luckily, the crewmen bailed and barely survived. A young Willis Hall, whose grandfather's farm bordered the tracks, stood in awe before the destroyed locomotive. The 1971 VW "Hippie Bus" GLENDIVE TRAIN MUSEUM THE

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