Established 1980 Director Anthony Ridenhour Opened 1928 | Type model railroad Phone +1 619-696-0199 | |
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Location Balboa Park, San Diego, California Address Balboa Park, 1649 El Prado, San Diego, CA 92101, USA Hours Open today · 11AM–5PMSaturday11AM–5PMSunday11AM–5PMMondayClosedTuesday10AM–4PMWednesday10AM–4PMThursday10AM–4PMFriday10AM–4PMSuggest an edit Similar Balboa Park, San Diego Automotive Museum, Reuben H Fleet Science, San Diego Museum of Man, Mingei International Museum Profiles | ||
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. The museum is on the lower level of the Balboa Park Casa de Balboa on the Prado in Balboa Park. The museum is open Tuesday through Sunday (see museum web site for hours).
Contents
Nearly three million people have passed through the center since it opened in 1982.
The San Diego Model Railroad Museum is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.
San diego model railroad museum
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."
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.
Railroad clubs
The model railroads were built and are maintained by four local railroad clubs, which exhibit their respective displays as nonprofit organizations. The clubs are: