San Diego Model Railroad Museum

San Diego Model Railroad Museum
Established 1980
Location Balboa Park, San Diego, California
Type model railroad
Director Anthony Ridenhour
Website http://www.sdmrm.org/

The San Diego Model Railroad Museum is a model railroad exhibit in San Diego, California. At 27,000 sq. ft., it is the largest indoor such exhibit in North America, and one of the largest in the world.[1] The museum is on the lower level of the Balboa Park Casa de Balboa on the Prado in Balboa Park.[2] The museum is open Tuesday through Sunday (see museum web site for hours).

Nearly three million people have passed through the center since it opened in 1982.[3]

The San Diego Model Railroad Museum is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.

A model of the San Diego Union Station at the San Diego Model Railroad Museum along with a number of model trains.

History

Model railroading in Balboa Park began at the 1935 California Pacific International Exposition. In the 1930s, pioneer model railroader Minton Cronkhite designed and directed the construction of a number of scale model railroads in the 1930s, including a large exposition O scale model railroad in Balboa Park. The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, as well as Pennsylvania Railroad, hired him to create giant model railroads for world fairs to stimulate interest in train travel and help revive the national economy during the years of the Great Depression. His 40-by-70-foot model railroad exhibit was the "chief transportation feature" of the 1935 exposition.

The San Diego Model Railroad Museum opened in 1982 with a mission to "preserve the heritage of railroading through a series of miniature representations of California railroads, research and preserve the history of model railroading, and educate the public in the many different aspects of railroading."[3]

Exhibits

With 27,000 square feet (2508 m²) of exhibit space, the museum is home of some of the largest HO and N scale layouts of their types. There are two massive HO scale layouts, a 1,200 sq ft (110 m2) N scale layout, a 2,700 sq ft (250 m2) O scale layout, and a Lionel type 3-Rail O gauge Toy Train gallery.

Library

The museum has a specialized library related to both model railroading and real railroads. The library has a collection of books, magazines, VHS tapes, blueprints and other materials for research. It is a reference library and the materials do not circulate, but it is open for any attendee of the museum.[4]

Railroad clubs

The model railroads were built and are maintained by four local railroad clubs, which exhibit their respective displays as nonprofit organizations.[3] The clubs are:

References

  1. ↑ San Diego Convention & Visitors Bureau (2012). "San Diego Model Railroad Museum". San Diego - The Official Travel Resource For The San Diego Region. San Diego Convention & Visitors Bureau. Retrieved 3 May 2012.
  2. ↑ Locator map
  3. 1 2 3 San Diego Model Railway Museum. "Our History". San Diego Model Railway Museum - Bringing California's Railroad History To Life. San Diego Model Railway Museum. Retrieved 3 May 2012.
  4. ↑ "Research for Rail-fans". San Diego Model Railroad Museum. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
  5. ↑ Changed to 501(C)(3) in 2009
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Coordinates: 32°43′52″N 117°8′52″W / 32.73111°N 117.14778°W / 32.73111; -117.14778

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