Railroad Commissioner Article

Model Railroad Museum

If you looked back at American history you would notice that at the crucial moment when America started being recognized as one of the superpowers of the world, locomotives also had an overpowering presence. Locomotives have played a vital role in the coming-of-age of America.

This was never more obvious than at the time of the Industrial Revolution, during which time the country experienced the biggest boom in manufacturing and industrial development. Locomotives played a vital role during this crucial period. They were responsible for connecting one industry to the other and transporting materials from processors to manufacturers, automobile assembly plants, steel mills, ore smelters, cattle farms and sheep farms, ports, supermarkets and textile mills. Using railroads and locomotives America has successfully created the world’s most flourishing trade empire and had forged many great family names including Vanderbilt, Huntington, Crocker and Ford, which will forever be mentioned as an important part of the history of America.

Having played such a major role in making America what it is today, no wonder railways and locomotives are considered such an American birthright. As a legacy of the past there are dozens of railroad museums all across America. In any model railroad museum you can experience the coming-of-age and history of America as well as the journey towards becoming the finest and best in the world. In most model railroad museums you can see scale models of all the railways that helped create industrial America including the Santa Fe Railways, Minor Keith’s International Railways of Central America and William Wheelwright’s Transcontinental Grand Central Argentine Railway.

One of the most comprehensive of al railroad museums is The San Diego Model Railroad Museum. It has helped preserve the history of model railroading by compiling and researching all available resources and imparting an education to the public on the numerous different aspects of railroading.

San Diego Model Railroad Museum has on display numerous contemporary and historical layouts of the miniature versions of California and San Diego’s railroad systems. The San Diego Society of N-Scale Modelers, the La Mesa Model Railroad Club, the San Diego Model Railroad Club and the newest member San Diego 3-Railers Club are the four non-profit organizations that are the main contributors to the San Diego Model Railroad Museum.

The Twin City Model Railroad Museum, which is in Minnesota, is also a non-profit organization with more than 100 member enthusiasts. The Twin City Model Railroad Museum offers visitors accurate and detailed information on the railways of America and proudly presents the United States railroad system the way it existed in the swinging 50’s and 60’s.

The Golden State Model Railroad Museum (GSMRM) has the biggest exhibit display. the N, HO and O railroad models are housed in a showroom that is 10,000 sq. feet large. The Golden State Model Railroad Museum features three large-scale model railroads, which are professionally maintained and constructed by the East Bay Model Engineers Society.