Generations of children have been enchanted by the detailed miniature world of model railroads. This year during spring break, the Colorado Railroad Museum is honoring this special hobby with a week of programming especially for the model train enthusiast, and those about to become enchanted by this very special hobby whatever their age.
Given the breadth of model railroading, the Museum is highlighting a special theme and craft each day. Monday is all about that beloved British engine – Thomas the Tank Engine and we will be making our own Thomas, Percy or Emily that young visitors can take home. Tuesday welcomes our friends from the Museum of Miniatures, Dolls & Toys and guests can make a matchbox train layout that photographer William Henry Jackson could appreciate. The Museum will host the Colorado Model Railroad Museum on Wednesday and visitors will create cookie tray landscapes. Thursday sees the President of the Denver HO Model Club demonstrating his hobby and our visitors will make a wooden cube locomotive. We will end the week on Friday by exploring model railroading from a LEGO perspective and you guessed it the opportunity to make your own locomotive out of LEGO bricks while supplies last.
Visitors too are invited to share their own expertise on Thursday when the Museum hosts a “Pop Up Exhibit” themed around model trains. To participate you just need to bring your own special model train, write a label telling its story and display it at the exhibit’s table. You can choose to stay and interpret your model train to visitors or leave it in the capable hands of the exhibit’s tour host. Those “loaning” a model rail car can pick it up at the end of the day.
A number of the Museum’s friends will be participating all week long. Operation Life Saver, the model train store, Caboose Ltd., along with the Denver HO Model Club and the Denver Garden Railway Society will be here offering their expertise and demonstrating their layouts to visitors young and old alike. The Museum will display model trains from its permanent collection in the library where a train-themed storytime will happen each day at 11 am.
Of course, no visit to the Colorado Railroad Museum will be entirely complete without a train ride and one of Colorado’s unique Galloping Geese is standing by ready to provide this unique experience for a small fee of $4. While not exactly a “model” train, the geese do fall into the category of a smaller scale rail car that stepped up when it became too expensive for the larger steam locomotive to make the mail run into the mountains. Today, the Galloping Goose provides Museum goers a unique perspective of train travel.
Families are encouraged to spend part of their spring break at the Colorado Railroad Museum. While the train ride is $4, all other special spring break activities are offered at no additional cost to general admission.
For more information including the schedule of Guest Modelers and Daily Crafts, please visit our website at https://coloradorailroadmuseum.org/youth-and-families/#spring-break or call us at 303-279-4591.
