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Posted on 01/22/2011 6:30:00 AM PST by Las Vegas Dave
The year 2011 may be remembered as the beginning of what could become a major tourist attraction for the city of Mentor.
The Western Reserve Model Railroad Museum is up and running in its new home, the former Tow Motor Plant on Justin Way.
They claim to have the largest model train display in the entire world. There are literally thousands of miniature train cars representing every size imaginable from tiny “Z” gauge to the giant “G” gauge Garden Scale. The trains circle, start and stop on a layout that covers over 19,000 square feet. And admission is free. According to the curator Rick Montgomery, the trains are just the tip of the iceberg. The museum also owns real, full-size railroad cars, including one that was once used by former U. S. President Dwight Eisenhower. “We also have 80 acres adjacent to the museum,” Montgomery said. “That’s plenty of room to grow even larger.”
The hope is to eventually raise the funds to bring all of the museum’s rolling stock to the sprawling property that was once the Tow Motor Plant along U. S. Route 2. In the meantime, more and more rail fans are discovering the miniature train collection. Immediate plans are to increase the model rail displays, enlarge the cafe and gift shop, and include a faux cobblestone street through the museum with storefronts that represent some of the major contributors and sponsors.
The Western Reserve Model Railroad Museum is an all-volunteer organization that continues to operate with grants, gifts and donations. It began operations six years ago in a 4,000 square-foot area in another nearby former industrial setting. The museum steadily grew in size and moved to the larger empty Tow Motor location last year.
Montgomery admits that it is still a work in progress, but right now visitors can see hundreds of model trains, including a single coal train pulling more than 100 coal cars whistling and rolling through a working amusement park, steel plants, and replicas of small railroad towns. This is all in Lilliputian-scale with mountains and rivers. There is also a kiddy train large enough for both kids and adults to ride.
In addition there is a 30,000 square-foot convention center in the complex operated by the Model Train Museum, which attracts various trade shows throughout the year.
The museum is open Saturday through Thursday. It’s located at 7230 Justin Way in Mentor and can be reached at (440) 251-0350. Visit www.wrmrrm.org. Admission to the museum is free but they do accept donations.
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I'm rather surprised at the question, "Who the heck was he, anyway?" Don't they teach American history anymore?
Garfield was the son of a pioneering family in Ohio. When he was a teenager, he enjoyed reading novels about adventure on the high seas, so he aspired to go to sea and live the life of a sailor. However, the closest he ever got to that lifestyle was a job on a canal boat, which he quit after becoming sick, probably from malaria. Later, graduated from college and served as a Disciples of Christ preacher, then a professor. He fought in the War Between the States as a general, then went into politics, and was elected our 20th president in 1880.
The home is a large mansion containing many original artifacts. Of particular interest to me is the extensive library that he and his descendants maintained. The home remained in the Garfield family for many decades after his death and is now maintained by the National Park Service. Visitors can stand on the front porch from which Garfield conducted his campaign, speaking to crowds who traveled to his home by train.
Two other impressive presidential homes in Ohio that I visited were those of Rutherford B. Hayes in Fremont and Warren G. Harding in Marion. The Harding home is especially impressive, being full of original artifacts. Harding was the last presidential candidate to wage a "front porch" campaign, and if you stand on the front porch, you can gaze at the same buildings across the street that Harding saw as he addressed the crowds that gathered in front of his home.
If somebody starts a list, please add me!
RFD TV also has a program Monday at 6:00 EST on trains. Lots of old films of steam locos chugging and blowing their whistles.
Cool beans. My son (and I) will love that.
The same sentiment struck me when I read about the Tucson assassin--that his personality seems very similar to that of Charles J.Guiteau, Garfield's killer.
One of the books for sale n the gift shop at the Garfield home was a parallel graphic biography of Garfield and Guiteau which portrayed Garfield as a great winner in life and Guiteau as a big loser.
I prefer N guage to HO.
I enjoy their toy train program...they had one that was awesome. It was large, city scenes and it went from daytime to lights out and the whole thing was a night time layout with lights on in the buildings, street lights etc..It took a lot of love to make such a layout. Of course it also had mountains and tunnels for outside of town with lights on the locomotives...
You are wrong, my FRiend. I showed this thread to my spouse and model railroad builder son, and they are now planning a trip to Ohio (needed some excuse to go there).
There’s a model railroad in Helen, GA that is pretty much just a museum. It does have a small selection of toy trains for sale. It’s been in business for over 20 years. The owner hasn’t become wealthy off of it, but the lights are on and he appears well fed.
If someone starts a railroad ping list, please place me on it. Thanks.
Please don't call it a "program"! ... Sounds too much like something to do with Obama and the demonRats.
juz kiddin' :)
Thanks for the heads up. I hope to go on some railfan trips someday and Ohio is full of places to watch trains.
Useful tip: If you go to this museum, or any museum for that matter, bring along a pair of binoculars, as there are many details that can be easily missed from, especially from a distance. But they work great at art museums, too, for seeing subtle details such as brushstrokes, etc.
I'm completely ignorant of model railroad culture. My impression is that there aren't a ton of model railroad enthusiasts, but that people who are into it are very passionate about it.
PS I could also smoke out there. and each car had a restaurant on the lower deck and a bar in the passenger part of the car. Great trip.
I like N-Scale and am tempted to go with it instead of HO, because of my addiction to passenger trains. But I have a lot of HO rolling stock and 3 engines that I already own. So HO is cheaper with four growing kids.
One needn't be an 'enthusiast' to enjoy these spectacular model train layouts. Up until 2009, the CitiCorp building in Manhattan, NY ran a large display which I'm sure hundreds of thousands of people attended during the month or so it ran. Kids especially went nuts over it. But most everyone seemed to find the workmanship and high level of detail fascinating.
Thanks for heads up Dave. I love trains of all sorts & will get here this winter.
I did visit the museum today, it is much like the photos and web site show. The building needs carpet and the working models have dust on them.
Everyone there seemed not to be bothered by the dust, and I believe all enjoyed the train displays.
It is a labor of love, but IMO not museum quality...
One fact that I found interesting, they hope to have train excursions to nearby events, they have started a spur for the train, but need to work out more details with the railroad. If they succeed with the train excursions, we will be one one or two of them.
I wish them luck.
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