Twin City Model Railroad Museum

Hello friends and fellow model railroad enthusiasts, 

We are incredibly honored to share the love of model railroading and toy train collecting with the Twin Cities and are grateful that people continue to visit and volunteer. Last year was our 90th Anniversary and we are looking forward to many decades of growth ahead of us! In fact, 2027 is the Railroading Bicentennial (250 years of railroading in America) and we are looking forward to many fun events. 

Last year's campaign funds were used to create generate HVAC repair plans and generate estimates to begin that work. Your donations helped us complete that study and we are now working with our landlord to begin that work and spread those payments out over a period of time that allows to avoid a large financial hit. We are grateful for your donations and we are heppy to report that progress is being made! 

This year, our GiveMN fundraising is focused on a project that is a little more fun! :) Funds from this year’s donations to the Twin City Model Railroad Museum through Give to the Max will be used to construct a new "Prewar" Toy Tain Exhibit. The title of the exhibit will be: “The Birth of Model Railroading: an Operating Prewar Exhibit”.

The Museum would like to be able to exhibit, both in static and operational formats, its collection of Prewar trains (trains produced before WWII) including Lionel, American Flyer, and others, in a combination of layout and multiple displays that is more visible and interactive than the current Prewar Standard Guage layout. The Museum does not currently have a Prewar O-gauge layout.

To do so, we propose to construct a combination layout/display exhibit that somewhat mirrors the shape and size of the current Golden Age (years 1946 to 1969) layout/display to be located directly across (to the North) of the Golden Age.T he main benefit of this exhibit a better manner in which to display the Museum’s collection and provide additional educational information for the Museum’s formal Interpretive Plan – Gallery A: “Early Model Railroading.”

The donations would be used to construct a mobile/wheeled metal base, plywood and homosote benchtop with wood trim capped by plexiglass to protect the layout. Also included would be lit, undercabinet display cases with Plexiglas fronts to display rotating prewar toy trains and accessories along with a display-shelf backing to exhibit prewar train sets and art. The estimated total cost of the exhibit is $25,000.

We are hopeful that our Give to the Max fundraising effort and a successful Night Trains season will help us continue to turn our museum into a world-class facility that can be an asset to the local community and beyond! 

We thank your for your consideration. And remember, your donation is fully tax deductible and you can start making donation pledges today, which will be applied on November 20th!  We know that you receive many requests for support during this season and we truly appreciate all donations. Be sure to follow us on Facebook for all the latest details and be sure to visit during our wonderful holiday Night Trains events! 

Sincerely,

Brandon Jutz

Marketing and Public Relations Volunteer, TCMRM