Model Railway Exhibitions – Still a Favorite Around the World
If you’ve ever been to a model train show and watched some of the visitors, you might have thought of the expression “country comes to town,” as you notice the awe visitors have when they first see professional style layouts. Model railway exhibitions are always a treat, even for the most accomplished of modelers.
Exhibitions can be at train shows, or they may be setup permanently for the amusement of model train lovers. Miniature Wonderland is the largest model train exhibition in the world, and it is open almost every day. Its layouts cover trains of the major countries of the world, each having a section of the huge display area.
The Miniature Railroad and Village in Pennsylvania is year round exhibit that features trains from the early American railroad era, especially the area around Pittsburgh. Scenes are fashioned after actual places, depicting the way they looked when the vintage trains were running.
Live steam exhibits are found in several different areas. The scale of the trains varies from one location to another, but most of them are large enough to carry passengers. Train Mountain Railroad Museum at Crater Lake National Park has over 25 miles of track on which to run their 1/8 scale steam trains.
Listed in the Guinness Book of World Records, Train Mountain is said to be the largest hobby railroad in the world. It is a non-profit organization attempting to preserve the American heritage of trains.
As most people know, Walt Disney was a train enthusiast from his early years. Much of his original Disneyland had train themes woven into it. One of the large attractions of Disney World has been the monorail.
What many people may not have known about Disney was that he had his own steam train exhibition in his California back yard. He did much of the work on the train and boxcars himself in his spare time. He used this private exhibit to amuse the children and even some grownups in his community.
Neil Young, who has credits with several bands of the sixties and seventies as well as his own solo career, has always been a model train lover. He has a continuing exhibition on his ranch, which utilizes all natural scenery. He has mostly Lionel trains because of his one time association with the company as a partner.
Many well-known and influential people have had their own public and private train exhibitions. When people say that model trains aren’t popular anymore, they don’t look at the broad picture. As long as the interest is there, there will be train show and layouts for the public’s amusement.
Model railway exhibitions turn up at county fairs, world expos, and they are still fascinating and fun for all the kids, no matter how old they may be.
