We began our visit with a ride on what is officially referred to as a park ride train. The Toy Train Depot is America's park ride train museum! They have some other beautifully restored park ride size trains to see!
Check out Roy's big smile! He's got his ticket and ready to go!
It added to the experience to have the big train go by blowing its whistle, as we got on our way. This little train moves right along!
Check out my big smile! Woo woo!!!
We've made the turn around and are heading back. It's a nice long ride and definitely worth doing! The train ride and museum tour are $6.00 per adult.
The museum is an original train depot built in 1898!
The museum has trains on nearly every wall! There are over 8,000 pieces of railroad memorabilia!
This is a model of one of the earliest trains! I didn't know that the stagecoach design was used for train passenger cars! It's not just a toy! They really did!
Here is a beautifully carved wood train!
The second room in the museum has lots of trains on the left wall.....
and lots of trains on the right wall, as well as in the middle, and around the ceiling! There is even one on the ceiling!
Scale and gauge are words you'll hear referred to often. Scale refers to the ratio of the model to the original (1:1 is full scale). The model train scales are Z=1:220, N=1:160, HO=1:87, S=1:64, O=1:48, and G=1:22.5. Gauge refers to the distance between the rails of the track. This tiny train is a working model.
Here are more operational trains!
The sign behind the conductor says: "I spent most of my life collecting trains. The rest I've just wasted." Touring the train museum and speaking with the enthusiastic volunteers gives one an appreciation for the individual interests that captivate people.
This huge replica of 1940s Alamogordo took two years to build! We came away from the museum with a better understanding of the world of toy train collecting. It's not just about playing with with toy trains! There is a connection between the model and history that a collector understands. There is also the technical attention to detail in the train scale and accuracy in its surrounding environment! Go to Toy Train Depot's website for more information: www.http://toytraindepot.homestead.com/.
