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A Greensboro couple recently opened their house to their neighbors to show their love for trains.

In previous years, Wiley and Thelma Harris had shown off their extensive train set to their neighbors during Christmas but decided instead to show the village last month instead.

“We added the Halloween piece this year and the let the kids from the neighborhood up to see it,” Wiley Harris said.

Usually, “it’s always Christmas” in the couple’s train village, but they saw the Halloween piece and wanted to add it

What they’ve seen is a train display that takes up about half a room of the couple’s home.

And this is only a portion of their collection. “A lot of it is still in storage,” Thelma Harris said.

The Harrises purchased their Greensboro home in 2001, but moved here permanently in May after Wiley Harris retired from GE Capital Services after 37 years.

Wiley Harris has been collecting trains and the pieces to the villages for more than 20 years.

“It’s never done,” he said.

The current set on display was built about seven years ago, he said, but there’s another set the couple had in their Connecticut home.

“He traveled a lot with his job, and I would go with him,” Thelma Harris said. “We would go to different museums and shops. Then I started noticing stuff when I’d be out shopping.”

Now the couple’s collection has grown large enough to fill that room and a storage space at their home.

The Harrises grew up in Lynchburg, Va., and that’s where their love of trains began.

“In the summertime, after church and dinner, for entertainment, we’d walk downtown to watch the trains and have ice cream,” she said. “It was a part of our lives.”

Their love of trains has also extended to memorabilia that includes china, silverware and menus from train dining cars.

“It’s rare for people to collect (models and memorabilia),” Wiley Harris said.

“But there’s a whole hobby out there. This just goes on and on.”

In the next few years, Wiley Harris anticipates thinning out his collection.

“We want to find someone who is interested in carrying it on,” he said.

Wiley Harris said he is also considering having a “trains only” yard sale to pass the memorabilia on to fellow collectors.

“Everybody should have a hobby — it releases stress,” Thelma Harris said.

“And it’s important to be able to share it with people,” Wiley Harris added.

Contact Tiffany S. Jones at 373- 7157 or tiffany.jones@news-record.com