Two days before Te Waihorotiu station reveals itself, the station is filled with only the sounds of howling wind and the footsteps of security patrols.

It's in this setting that Andrew Holt from Auckland Märklin Club arrives with his strong team of five.

With three vans full of models between them, there's no time to take a peek at the new platforms.

"Each individual club member makes their own modules and then we collect them all, bring them in, join them all up together, and hope it all works."

The team has to connect 20 modules together, make sure all the electricals are working, and that the eight trains will be able to run on them, all before Saturday.

Holt, the club's president, said their last two public displays at Maungawhau and Karanga-a-Hape stations had been a great success.

"We've actually been a problem. We've caused bottlenecks because everyone stops. They really want to see what we're doing."

Auckland Märklin Club was formed in 1987 by model train enthusiasts. The name Märklin comes from the German brand of model trains they often use in their displays.

Setting up for display at the central rail link station, it feels like the tale of two rails - both taking years of work and a lot of dedication. And Holt said both had been someone's dream.

"[Model trains are] a great hobby in terms of all the different skills you learn doing it - in construction, using a drill and using a jigsaw and all that, electronics, just planning the whole scene, what you want to make, building your dream."

Eight trains will be running consecutively on the club's tracks this Saturday. But to Holt, the hobby is more than trains.

"You have a train, but the train needs to go somewhere. And one of the special things I've been told is you need a reason for the train to go there, so build a story around it."

In one of Holt's models he tells the story of how a village stationed next to a waterway slowly grew to a city with apartments, police stations and railway stations.

As a keen modeller of train stations himself, Holt was impressed by the City Rail Link.

"The stations are really cool. My favourite is the Karanga-a-Hape Station. I think it's everyone's favourite. It's just so deep, and when I'm downstairs you all remember Star Wars, and you've got Han and Chewbacca running around there. I mean, Karanga-a-Hape Station reminds me of Star Wars and the corridors - and I'm expecting the stormtroopers to come running around the other way."

Holt hoped their display would not only draw more interest to the hobby, but also land them a permanent space. For the last 13 years, they had been running the club through various member's homes.

"We don't have a club room, and that's what we're really hoping for, partially out of this, that we show that we are good."

He said the hosting space could benefit in drawing in crowds regularly who take an interest in the trains, or fascinate over the models.

Among the sceneries on display was Barry Mccullough's work. The 78-year-old has been playing with model trains since he was eight.

"Yeah, I made a lot of them. Did you see the nudists?"

He was pointing to a beach with train tracks built overtop. The module took Mccullough and his wife more than 200 hours to create.

"It's a hobby, we do it when we get around to it. There's no such thing as time."

In another module was an orchard setting created by McCullough's wife. The space, no bigger than an office desk surface, is filled with 19 miniature lemon trees, 47 orange trees, six trucks and more than 25 workers.

The couple prepared a special something for the last station's 'first look' day.

"One of the security guys here, the guy in head of organising. On Saturdays (at previous station openings) he wears bright green. Well, she's actually modelled him. And tomorrow night we're going to set it on one of the displays and he's going to have to be here to pick out where he wants to put it. He doesn't know yet."

The first look is scheduled for Saturday from 8am to 6pm. Tickets are free, but booking is required.

And when you pop by the Märklin Club's display, you might want to try spotting the green-dressed figurine that looks like someone working around the station.