The little engine that could…until it just couldn’t anymore. Our small, model railroad diorama is fun to watch for train enthusiasts young and old and in-between. However, going around in a tight circle all day, every day is damaging to model train engines and a much larger platform is needed to truly maintain a model railroad appropriately and to better represent Aberdeen at the turn of the last century.
Aberdeen is the Hub City. At one time there were nine railroad lines crisscrossing through town with four active depots. Even today we are still a railroad town with frequent daily routes passing through. Just wait…and you will hear the train horn blowing and the railroad crossing signals dinging at some point during the day.
The Plan:
Working with dedicated model railroad enthusiasts with the James Valley Model Railroad Association, the DPM staff are working out an expanded platform, going from a small 3’x3’ table to a 4’x10’ tableau. It will represent Aberdeen in 1911, when the new CMSP depot was built at the intersection of Main Street and Railroad Avenue and there was still a trolley system going from Northern Normal & Industrial School all the way to Wylie Park. Automobiles vied for space on Main Street with pedestrians, bicycles, and horse-drawn wagons.
How Can You Help?
Please consider a contribution towards our “ABERDEEN ALL ABOARD! RAILROAD HUB OF THE DAKOTAS – RAILROAD EXHIBIT REMODEL PROJECT.” Your funds will allow us to purchase track, train cars, engines, diorama décor, and building/electrical materials. An expanded railroad exhibit will delight all of our patrons and teach them about the boom years of our railroad town.
Thank you for your support!