If you’re like me and enjoy riding Amtrak, but also enjoy model railroading, you’ve likely asked yourself “can I take Amtrak to see a model railroad?”
The answer is yes!
Four model railroads call Amtrak stations their home
Durand Union Station Model Railroad Engineers Inc.
Durand Union Station
200 Railroad Street
Durand, Mich. 48429
Saturdays 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. and select Sundays 12 p.m. – 4 p.m.
Amtrak routes served:
Blue Water from Chicago, Ill. to Port Huron, Mich.
The Durand Union Station Model Railroad Engineers, Inc. (DUSMRE) was founded in 1990 as a 501(c)(3) organization. The layout features 2,000+ linear feet of track throughout five main lines that traverse the Michigan-themed layout. These five lines intersect each other near a replica of Durand Union Station. Set in the time period between 1945 and 1963, the layout features scenes and action on the Grand Trunk Western and Ann Arbor railroads.
Carolina Model Railroaders
J. Douglas Gaylon Depot
236 E. Washington St.
Greensboro, N.C. 27401
Saturdays 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Amtrak routes served:
Carolinian from New York, N.Y. to Charlotte, N.C.
Piedmont from Raleigh to Charlotte, N.C.
Crescent from New York, N.Y. to New Orleans, La.
Founded in 1973, the Carolina Model Railroaders build and operate model railroad layouts to promote the hobby. The organization is currently building an HO scale layout featuring Greensboro and extending to the Sandhills and mountains. A freelanced N scale layout also occupies space in the facility. The group started in the station’s west waiting room from the 1970s to 2001. From 2003 to present, they have operated out of the former Railway Express Agency building adjacent to the former Southern Ry. Greensboro Station. The organization’s first layout was even featured in the February 1979 issue of Model Railroader.
Kansas City Union Station Model Train Gallery
Kansas City Union Station
30 W. Pershing Rd.
Kansas City, Mo. 64108
Sunday – Saturday 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Suggested donation of $5/person or $10/family
Amtrak routes served:
Southwest Chief from Chicago, Ill. to Los Angeles, Calif.
Missouri River Runner from St. Louis, Mo.
Kansas City Union Station’s Model Train Gallery has 8,000 square feet of model railroad layout space. The exhibit features trains from Z to large scale that all run simultaneously. More than 80 trains run around the layout daily, which doubles during the Christmas season. The gallery is visited by more than 250,000 visitors annually, and is designed, built, and maintained by Union Station volunteers.
South Bay Historical Railroad Society
Santa Clara Station
1005 Railroad Ave.
Santa Clara, Calif. 95050
Tuesday 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Saturday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Amtrak routes served:
Capitol Corridor from San Jose to Auburn, Calif.
Other routes served:
Caltrain from San Francisco to Gilroy, Calif.
Altamont Corridor Express from San Jose to Stockton, Calif.
The South Bay Historical Railroad Society was incorporated in 1985 to preserve local railroad heritage. The group operates layouts in HO and N scales that showcase various eras and locations. The goal of the layout is to give visitors and members a better understanding of the different aspects of model railroading. In addition to the layouts, the museum has Oregon-Washington RR & Navigation business car No. 184 on display, among other artifacts.
Have you been able to take Amtrak to visit a model railroad? Was it one of the layouts mentioned? If not, we’d love to hear which layouts you’ve visited in the comment section below.
You missed an impressive set of layouts in Hamlet, N.C. In the basement of the restored (and moved across the tracks) Amtrak station there is an H.O. layout of Hamlet in the 1950’s. Across the street, in another railroad building is an impressive O-Scale layout. There are also protype engines and rolling stock.
The Brunswick, ME ticket office (which doubles as the town’s visitor center) features an N scale layout.
There is a terrific HOn3 layout in the upper level of the Cheyenne, WY RR Depot on West 15th Street and Capitol Avenue as well as a most engaging and comprehensive museum of railroad history and stuff on the ground floor. Not to be missed after visiting the Big Boy in Holliday Park.
The Cincinnati Union Terminal was the last great train station built in America. It is today the Cincinnati Museum Center and also houses the AmTrak station. The museum features a model of downtown Cincinnati during the 1940s I believe and it includes “street cars” and rail lines to Union Station.