The 86-year-old man spent 30 years building the train set. Now, he must leave his passion behind as health issues are prompting him and his wife to move.

One of the longest-running displays in the nation, the Miniature Railroad Club of York has built 80 years of passion into a vast railroad landscape.

As a little boy in Maryland, Don Mathis couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw a miniature steam engine on a model train that ...