Model Railroading
I was disappointed to disassemble my modular 6'x12' HO layout in 2002, but the prospect of unending travel was just too appealing. Soon my nephew and I will build a train loft in his garage/workshop so that the layout can again be laid out and expanded by the addition of an interior folded dogbone modeled after the layout in Boy's Life Magazine, Dec. 1958. (The Official Magazine of Scouting.) The Library of Congress holds a nearly complete collection of Boy's Life and it pleased me greatly in 2003 to be able to copy the relevant pages from a dozen issues. Does anyone know if that original layout lives in Laconia, NH?
My friends Jack and Alice Moberg have sold their Harmar Station collection and closed my favorite, fully functional Lionel train museum (that ran 13 trains simultaneously using block control relays). While much of their display and rolling stock was Lionel, they ran Willams locomotives simply because the Williams required one tenth of the maintenance of Lionel. Their collection is now in North Carolina at Smoky Mountain Trains, 100 Greenlee Street, Bryson City, NC 28713 (near the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad depot). The new location is open in a wonderfully large building. It boasts 150 Lionel diesel locomotives and over a mile of track.
HA!! How sadly we fail!! This site has been up for five years and I've failed to mention that my cousin Perry makes his living repairing 027 Lionel engines. He keeps so busy that he has neglected to erect a web presence. Apologies all around. Maybe he will consent to list some more details here.
http://thebecketts.com/beckettsdepot is a great list of RR sites but navagation is a problem. Click on the 2000+ links and pick a letter.
Cyndi's List - railroads is a railroad site even though Cyndi's List is a genealogy site.
http://www.trainsNH.com New Hampshire.
The model train layout at Northlandz in Flemington, New Jersey (http://www.northlandz.com) is labeled "must see" by my friends. It is located on 495 Hwy 202 south - 10:30-4:00 every day, 10-6 weekends.
Another "must see" that I haven't seen is the model RR store in Red Bank, NJ, south of Newark.
I've actually visited very few train displays, but these are the few I've visited.
Hartmann Model Railroad; Town Hall Road; Intervale, NH 03845; 1-603-356-9922; http://www.hartmannrr.com (models, open year round) [I visited about 2000.]
Smoky Mountain Trains; 100 Greenlee Street; Bryson City, NC. 28713; http://www.smokymtntrains.com (Lionel models) [I visited 2004.]
Lionel Train & Seashell Museum; 6969 N. Tamiami Trail; Sarasota, FL 33580 (Lionel models, open daily) [I visited in the 1980s.]
I've collected brochures as I've traveled across the country. I haven't gone to any of these places, but put them here and would be happy to hear your comments. These are listed alphabetically by state.
Arizona:
Grand Canyon Railway; Williams, AZ: AAA brochure, no web site or local address
Colorado:
Royal Gorge Scenic Railway; P.O. Box 1387-BRO; Canon City, CO 81215; 1-719-275-5485
Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad; Durango, CO 81301; 970-247-2733 (coal fired)
Leadville, Colorado & Southern; 326 East 7th Street; Leadville, CO 80461; 1-719-486-3936
Connecticut:
Naugatuck Railroad; Thomaston, CT 06787-0400; 1-860-283-RAIL; http://www.rmne.org (20 mile ride)
Essex Steam Train & Riverboat; Essex, CT; 1-860-767-0103;
Indiana:
Whitewater Valley Rail Road; Connersville, IN 47331; 765-825-2054: 12pm Sat, Sun May through Oct with extra days in May & Oct (check fees & schedule)
Carthage, Knightstown & Shirley Railroad; 112 W. Carey Street; Knightstown, IN 46148; 765-345-5561: 10:30-4:30 Fri, Sat, Sun May to Oct 31 (10 mile round trip, check fees & schedule)
Linden Railroad Museum; 514 North Main Street; Linden, IN; 1-800-866-3973: 1-5pm Fri, Sat, Sun Apr through Oct (artifacts and model rr, check fees & schedule)
Iowa:
Boone & Scenic Valley Railroad; 225 10th Street; Boone, IA 50036; 1-800-626-0319; http://www.scenic-valleyrr.com: 1:30pm daily Memorial Day to Oct 31st with extra runs weekends plus runs in May & Dec (check fees & schedule)
New Hampshire:
Winnipesaukee Scenic Railroad; Meredith, NH; 1-603-745-2135
Hobo Railroad; Rte 112; Lincoln, NH 03251; 1-603-745-2135 (http://www.hoborr.com)
Mt. Washington Cog Railway; Route 302; Bretton Woods, NH 03589; 1-800-922-8825 (http://www.thecog.com)
Conway Scenic Railroad; North Conway, NH 03860; 1-800-232-5251 (http://www.conwayscenic.com)
New Mexico:
Steins Railroad Ghost Town; Steins, NM 88045; 505-542-9791
Cumbres & Toltec Railroad; Chama, NM
Missouri:
St. Louis Iron Mountain & Southern Railway in Jackson, MO; 800-455-RAIL; mostly weekends, call for schedule; train rides with variously steam, robbery, mystery & dinner themes
Ohio:
Mad River and NKP Railroad Museum; Southwest Street; Bellevue, OH: 1pm-5pm daily during summer; 1-419-483-2222 (http://www.onebellevue.com/madriver)
Pennsylvania:
The Lincoln Train; 200 Steinwehr Avenue; Gettysburg, PA 17325: 9am-9pm summer; 1-717-334-5678 (models?)
Stourbridge Rail; 303 Commercial Street; Honesdale, PA 18431; 1-800-433-9008 (check fees & schedule)
Steamtown National Historic Site; 150 S. Washington Avenue; Scranton, PA 18503; 1-888-693-9391 (http://www.nps.gov/stea): 9-5pm year round (26 mile excursion May 28-Nov 7, check fees & schedule)
South Carolina:
The South Carolina Railroad Museum; 230 Industrial Park Road; Winnsboro, SC 29202-7246; 1-800-968-5909 (http://www.scrm.org): 5 runs daily every other Sat May to Oct (check fares & schedule)
I was able to search for Lancaster and Chester railroad in South Carolina.
Texas:
Texas State Railroad State Historic Park; P.O. Box 39; Rusk, TX 75785; 1-903-683-2561
Galveston Island Railroad Museum; 25th & The Strand; Galveston, TX; 1-409-765-5700
Vermont:
Green Mountain Railroad Corp.; 54 Depot Street; Bellows Falls, VT 05101: 1-800-707-3530 (http://www.rails-vt.com) (two hour rides)
Virginia:
Virginia Museum of Transportation in Roanoke, VA (303 Norfolk Ave; 540-342-5670; 10-5 M-Sat, noon-5 Sun, closed Mondays in Jan & Feb)
NASA Visitor Center at the Goddard Space Flight Center on Wallops Island, Virginia (757-824-2298; http://www.wff.nasa.gov/vc) has no trains, but features a model rocket launch each month March-Nov and free admission
West Virginia:
Spirit of Washington Dinner Train; Renton, WA: 1-800-876-7245 (http://www.SpiritofWashingtonDinnerTrain.com
The Potomac Eagle; Romney, WV; 1-304-424-0736 (http://www.potomaceagle.info/)
Wisconsin:
National Railroad Museum in Green Bay, WI; 920-437-7623; http://www.nationalrrmuseum.org; 2285 S. Broadway; 9-5 M-Sat, 11-5 Sun, closed 5 holidays; train rides May 1 to Oct 1 at 10, 11:30, 1, 2:30 & 4; 70+ locomotives and railcars on display
Mid-Continent Railway Museum in North Freedom, WI; 800-930-1385; http://www.midcontinent.org; west of 4-way stop on Walnut; weekends May 10-Oct 19, daily May 24-Sept 1, grounds open 9:30-5, departures 10:30, 12:30, 2 & 3:30
Fennimore Railroad Museum Historical Society in Fennimore, WI; 608-822-6144; http://www.fennimore.com/railroad; 60 Lincoln Ave; 10-4 daily, Sept. & Oct. weekends only; weekend rides on 15" gauge minature
Riverside & Great Northern Railway in Wisconsin Dells;608-254-6367; http://www.randgn.com; N115 County Road N; daily Memorial Day to Labor Day 10-5:30, weekends off season; ride a 15" gauge steam train
East Troy Electric Railroad in East Troy, WI; 262-642-3263; http://www.easttroyrr.org; 2002 Church St.; May 17 to Oct 26 weekend departures 11:30, 1, 2:30 & 4, Wed, Thurs, Fri 10, 12 & 2; trolley rides, dinner train
Camp 5 Museum in Laona, WI; 800-774-3414; http://www.camp5museum.org; Hwy 8 & 32; Jun 18- Aug 30 m-Sat departures 11, 12, 1 & 2; offers a steam train ride (1916 Vulcan locomotive) & logging museum
The Mining Museum in Platteville, WI; 608-348-3301; 405 E. Main; daily May-Oct 9-5; train ride around grounds
The following are not train sites, but may interest others besides me.
Jelly Bean Visitor Center and Factory Tour in Pleasant Prairie, WI (10100 Jelly Belly Lane; 1-800-522-3267; 9-5 daily) gives the tour in a indoor train
Kenosha Military Museum in Pleasant Prairie, WI; 262-857-3418; 11114 120th Ave; Wed-Sun 9-5 closed on inclement weather; has tanks, planes & coptors, but no trains
Does everyone get advertising for the NMRA National Train Show, P.O. Box 36202; Houston, TX 77236-6202?
More from the Great American Train Show; P.O. Box 1745; Lombard, IL 60148; 630-834-0652; http://www.gats.com
Holiday cards from National Railroad Museum; P.O. Box 96005; Washington, D.C. 200077-6005; 1-800-556-5494
Is the National Railroad Museum really at 2285 S. Broadway; Green Bay, WI 54304-4832?
There are model railroad clubs and associations all across the country. Here are a very few.
JCCC Model Railroading, a class offered by Johnson County Community College, Overland Park, Kansas.
Santa Fe Modelers, Fairway, Kansas (near Kansas City)
AMROC, Columbia, SC has several gauges and an extensive HO layout
Click here to return to Ron Beatty's home page,
The following links are of personal interest:
Eve's Garden Organic Bed and Breakfast, a wonderful, eclectic, artistic papercrete alternative living learning mecca in Marathon, Texas
Rambo family genealogy, Bankston & Bankson family genealogy, the Camblin family genealogy, the Dorsey Overturff family, cousin Jean's Schenck and Hageman genealogy, and