Model trains are a fascination for all ages, and so is the history of railroads. There’s a place along the North Carolina coast where the two come together in the best way possible – and you’ll want to be sure to visit the next time you’re near! Located in an old 1883 freight house, the Wilmington Railroad Museum displays the largest model train layout in the state.
The spectacular freight warehouse that houses the museum is impressively worn and surprisingly preserved. A caboose sits in the garden at one end of the building and offers visitors a chance to go inside for a peek around.
In total, there are 20 operating units in four different scales at the museum. And the attention to detail in the displays is astounding! Some displays, like this one, even change with the season when the museum lights up the tiny model towns with tiny holiday lights each year.
Back in 2011, the volunteers who manage the model train displays at the museum gathered up all of their engines and train cars and took them across the street to the convention center in order to connect them all into the largest model train display in the world.
They connected 31 locomotives and 1,563 cars from the museum's stock and laid them on 1,000 feet of track. The train then traveled a whopping 750 feet to break the previous world record!
The displays and the trains at this epic museum have more than 70,000 man hours involved in creating and maintaining the trains, tracks, and amazing displays. Someone even replicated the famous Wilmington Round House where trains were serviced in days gone by.
And what model train display would be complete without a North Carolina tobacco field? You'll love the displays and the details in them at least as much as the trains themselves!
For the smallest members of the family, a children's area provides a scaled-down version of railroading with hands-on toy trains to educate and help the little ones feel as engaged as the adults.
Did you know this incredible railroad museum was right here along the coast in Wilmington? Or that these trains broke the world record for the longest operational model train ever??
The Wilmington Railroad Museum is open year-round Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Learn more, including admission prices, from their official website, and follow the Facebook page here.
Address: 505 Nutt Street, Wilmington, NC, 28401
Love trains? Take our signature train lover’s road trip to various train-themed sites in North Carolina. Read all about it here!
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