your portal to more fun in scale model railroading
your portal to more fun in scale model railroading
Introducing an opportunity to leave a model railroading legacy that may be enjoyed for generations.
You’ve loved trains your entire life. Some of your greatest pleasures, most precious treasures, most meaningful memories, have come from model trains.
We’d like to introduce you to a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity... a rare chance to share your love of scale model railroading with thousands of people.
This is a unique opportunity to create one of the best model railroading exhibits in the world.
The Gallery, slated to be completed within the next few years, is the first step toward a permanent museum and will be housed at the California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento, California. This venue is California’s third largest tourist attraction and one that draws over 600,000 visitors annually. It’s here that railroad aficionados and train lovers from around the world come to experience the sights and sounds of railroading… to see how it was yesterday, how it is today, and what it will become tomorrow.
There could be no more perfect stage for The Magic of Scale Model Railroading Gallery.
In fact, no one could even purchase the premiere space into which it will be built.
The area for the Gallery has been generously donated by the Museum and is directly adjacent to its current “Magic of Toy Trains” exhibit. With an estimated construction cost of $750,000, The Magic of Scale Model Railroading Gallery will encompass over 3,500 square feet devoted solely to the hobby of model railroading. Young and old alike will thrill to see the history of model trains come alive, from the earliest tin wind-up toys, right up to today’s electronically controlled marvels.
Visitors will see actual portions of famous train layouts built by some of the most talented, well known modeling experts in the history of the hobby, and salvaged before those layouts were dismantled. Notable among them are the San Juan Central railroad, built by Malcolm Furlow for Model Railroader magazine, plus key portions of Len Madsen’s Ophir, Colorado, scene, portions of Irv Schultz’s St. Clair Northern, the Clintwood section of Allen McClelland’s original Virginian and Ohio, and even John Allen’s famous Timesaver.
There will even be a special display depicting a new model railroad under construction, so that visitors can see each stage of creation, from initial benchwork to final details.
From earliest hobby magazines, to Howell Day’s entire line of Red Ball freight cars, to space for viewing live demonstrations and videos, The Magic of Scale Model Railroading Gallery will be a showcase of – and a tribute to – a hobby which has entertained millions like you for well over 100 years.
Perhaps most important, visitors will not only get a true sense of where the hobby has been and where it’s headed, but how interesting and enjoyable the hobby remains, and how they themselves can easily participate in the fun.
The Magic of Scale Model Railroading Gallery will be built entirely with donated funds, and managed by an independent non-profit organization. Although the Gallery itself will be associated with the National Model Railroad Association (NMRA), no NMRA dues or operating money will be used to fund or maintain it.
Therefore, making this Gallery become a reality depends solely on the generosity of individuals like you, who have gotten so much out of this beloved hobby.
To contribute, donate online or call the National Model Railroad Association Headquarters at 423.892.2846.
Even in today’s age of video games and smartphones, kids still love trains. So it’s no wonder that each year more than 150,000 school children visit the Museum. With the addition of The Magic of Scale Model Railroading Gallery, some of those children will undoubtedly become tomorrow’s model railroaders. And they’ll have been inspired by the Gallery you helped to build.
Life offers precious few opportunities to leave such an important legacy that can be enjoyed by so many. The Magic of Scale Model Railroading Gallery is one.
Don’t miss this opportunity. Don’t pass by this chance to make a meaningful mark on a hobby that has given you so much for so long.
The NMRA Model Railroad Museum, Inc. is a non-profit organization run in conjunction with the National Model Railroad Association, but receives no funds from the NMRA.