Established | 1934 |
---|---|
Location | 668 Transfer Road, Suite 8. Saint Paul, Minnesota |
Coordinates | 44°57′39″N93°11′7″W / 44.96083°N 93.18528°W |
Type | Model Railroad Museum |
Visitors | 24,000+ |
President | Dr. Peter Southard |
Curator | Paul Jones |
Website | http://www.tcmrm.org |
The Twin City Model Railroad Museum is a railroad museum in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States, which has a large display of model railroads, and hosts special events like hobby shows, holiday events and more.
The museum has had a home in Saint Paul since 1934, where it first started as a club. [1] In later years the museum established a home in the Saint Paul Union Depot where it remained till its last day of operations on September 26, 1978, when the depot was shut down. The museum's next home was Bandana Square, a former Northern Pacific railcar repair facility that was being redeveloped as a mall. [2] The museum members started building a new O-Scale layout in the space. In 2009, museum volunteers opened the Toy Train Division in the adjacent Chimneys Building which featured an ever-changing set of toy trains in various other scales. On October 16, 2015, the museum announced that it was looking for a new home. [3] The museum subsequently announced it would be moving to a new location in spring of 2016. [4] The museum reopened on May 17, 2016, in their new location at 668 Transfer Road, Suite 8. The new location is just south of the former Amtrak Midway Depot along the Minnesota Commercial railyard. [5]
The museum's most popular event is Night Trains® which began on November 30, 1996. This event features the layout buildings, streetlamps and train cars lit up with only theatrical lighting overhead, creating a holiday vibe which is highly attended. Special events during the Night Train season, held November through February, include Santa visits, live music, guest layouts and more. [6]
Additional special events throughout the year include hobby sales, circus trains, military trains, Halloween events and more. [7]
The museum went through an expansion during the pandemic that allowed it to start offering birthday parties in a newly expanded space. The space also includes additional train layouts in the "Mini-Sota" gallery, a work area, storage, offices and break room for volunteers. This expansion brings the square footage of museum display space to nearly 14,000 square feet.
The museum is typically open Friday-Monday. However, additional special events are held throughout the year. [7]
In 2024, the museum is celebrating its 90th Anniversary with special events throughout the year. [8] The museum had a special logo made to honor the 90th anniversary which harkens back to their original look from the Bandana Square era. [9]
Railway modelling or model railroading is a hobby in which rail transport systems are modelled at a reduced scale.
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Model Railroader (MR) is an American magazine about the hobby of model railroading. Founded in 1934 by Al C. Kalmbach, it is published monthly by Kalmbach Media of Waukesha, Wisconsin. Commonly found on newsstands and in libraries, it promotes itself as the oldest magazine of its type in the United States, although it is the long-standing competitor to Railroad Model Craftsman, which - originally named The Model Craftsman - predates MR by one year.
The William Crooks is a 4-4-0 steam locomotive that was the first locomotive to operate in the State of Minnesota, beginning in 1861. It was named after William Crooks, the Chief Mechanical Engineer for the St. Paul and Pacific Railroad. He served as a colonel and commander of the 6th Minnesota Volunteer Infantry Regiment during the American Civil War. Crooks laid the initial 10-mile (16 km) track between Minneapolis and St. Paul, and the William Crooks was the first locomotive to run on the line.
Saint Paul Union Depot is a historic railroad station and intermodal transit hub in the Lowertown neighborhood of Saint Paul, Minnesota. It serves light rail, intercity rail, intercity bus, and local bus services.
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Northtown Mall is a shopping mall located in Blaine, Minnesota, United States. The mall's anchor stores are Hobby Lobby, Best Buy Outlet, 2 Becker Furniture World stores, and Burlington. In addition, Northtown Mall features over 100 stores and restaurants, as well as a food court and Paladin Career and Technical High School public charter school which was open in September 2002. The mall is owned by 4th Dimension Properties. Over 5.5 million people visit the mall every year.
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The Minneapolis Great Northern Depot, also known as Great Northern Station, was a passenger railroad station which served Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. It was built in 1913 and demolished in 1978. It was located on Hennepin Avenue next to the Hennepin Avenue Bridge and across the street from the main Minneapolis Post Office.
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Brighton Toy and Model Museum is an independent toy museum situated in Brighton, East Sussex. Its collection focuses on toys and models produced in the UK and Europe up until the mid-Twentieth Century, and occupies four thousand square feet of floor space within four of the early Victorian arches supporting the forecourt of Brighton railway station. Founded in 1991, the museum holds over ten thousand toys and models, including model train collections, puppets, Corgi, Dinky, Budgie Toys, construction toys and radio-controlled aircraft.
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Wayzata station is a historic train depot in Wayzata, Minnesota, United States. Constructed and operated by the Great Northern Railway, the station was in service from 1906 until 1971. The depot is positioned along Lake Minnetonka in downtown Wayzata with steps leading down to the lakeshore. Although no longer transporting passenger trains, the BNSF Railway line going through Wayzata is still active today.
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