The Twin City Model Railroad Museum announces 75th anniversary
For those of you in the Minneapolis/St. Paul Minnesota area, I received this press release….
(St. Paul, MN) – On May 1, 2009, the Twin City Model Railroad Museum celebrates 75 years in the St. Paul community.
The Friday through Sunday program, highlighted by events and commemorative activities, will focus on the history of the Museum and Twin Cities railroading. The anniversary will include the following:
- May 1: A dinner for members and invited guests at the St. Paul College Club, 990 Summit Ave., St. Paul, MN
- May 1–2: Workshops and lectures open to Museum visitors on subjects from building a model railroad and maintaining model trains, to railroad history of the United States and the Twin Cities area
- A custom O-scale model boxcar featuring the Museum’s 75th Anniversary logo, commissioned from Weaver Models and available for sale at the Museum giftshop
- Twin City Model Railroad Club/Museum, 1934-2009, a book detailing the Museum’s extensive history available for sale at the Museum giftshop later this year
The May 1 dinner at the St. Paul College Club will feature a keynote address from Professor Don Hofsommer, PhD., St. Cloud State History Department, speaking on historic railroads of Minneapolis and St. Paul. The weekend workshops and lectures are designed to continue the Museum’s mission of providing family entertainment for young and old alike, preserving Minnesota railroad history and growing the model railroading hobby as a whole. Additional information is available on the Museum web site at www.tcmrm.org.
About the Twin City Model Railroad Museum
On May 1, 1934, a group of modelers met to form the St. Paul Craftsman Club and began building an O-gauge model railroad. From these humble beginnings, and through several location and name changes, the Twin City Model Railroad Museum has grown to a world-class museum.
Now located in historic Bandana Square, the Twin City Model Railroad Museum is a detailed model panorama of railroads in the Twin Cities during the 1930s, ’40s and ’50s, a time when both steam and diesel engines shared the rails. Thousands of volunteer hours have faithfully reproduced Twin Cities railroad history in O Scale (1/4 inch equals 1 foot), including the famed Stone Arch Bridge spanning St. Anthony Falls and the Great Northern Depot of Minneapolis. Museum highlights also include an extensive collection of railroad art and memorabilia, and the new Toy Train Division, featuring visiting and permanent layouts in N, HO, O and G gauges.
The Twin City Model Railroad Museum is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
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2 Responses to “The Twin City Model Railroad Museum announces 75th anniversary”
I read this today “The Sheboygan Society of Scale Model Railroad Engineers is packing up” After 15 years on display and 32 years as a club they close and become a memory. what could Twin City Model Railroad Museum offer as advice for other clubs to last the test of time, so we may pass this on to our children? I believe you have allot to offer these other clubs and organizations. I commend you for your longevity, congratulations.
franjh
Posted by: franjh | Apr 19, 2009 at 12:32 PM
First, thank you for your thoughts.
75 years is a long time, and it has not always been an easily traveled road. The Museum has moved locations several times in the past, seen the rent go from free to tens of thousands a year, and make the transition from a club to a museum, which involves changing ways of thinking about how the Museum is seen by the public. Possibly our greatest challenge right now is our aging membership. There are very few members under the age of 40, or even 50. One big change recently that we hope starts bringing in new, and younger, members is our new Toy Train Division. Begun just this year in the building next to the Museum, we have several 3-rail layouts, small to very large, as well as other scales and visiting portable layouts from other model train clubs. While controversial within the membership, it opens us up to a broader audience and is adding new excitement to the Museum overall.
Our other continuing struggle is having enough volunteers to do everything we need to do and want to do. Like many organizations, a small percentage of members does a large share of the work, but we are making it happen and trying to plan for the future.
We hope you can visit us if you are ever in the area.
Jonathan
Posted by: Jonathan | Apr 28, 2009 at 2:46 PM