The display will change periodically throughout the year and include a special Pittsburgh Steelers exhibit in late summer. This is a must see for kids and kids at heart!

Most of the model trains in the museum’s exhibit are post-war vintage, meaning they were manufactured after World War II. They are categorized by the width of their track, or their gauge. Two gauges are on display: the O gauge, having three rails, and the S gauge, manufactured by A.C. Gilbert, having two rails.

Learn about our $2.3 million renovation of Beaver Station

Upon entering, guests will see familiar elements on the right train platform. Trains encircle a model of Beaver’s Pittsburgh & Lake Erie freight station, crafted by museum volunteer Robert Smith. On the outermost track, catch a glimpse of Marilyn Monroe as she gazes out the back window of her passenger car. According to some accounts, young “Norma Jean Baker” (as she was then known) rode the New Jersey Central Railroad to and from a private school. On the innermost track with the bridges runs a Lionel O27 gauge train.

The platform on the far end of the main display has both local and international features. On the inner track on right side of the platform is an O gauge tin train manufactured in the Czech Republic around 2010. The P&LE train running on the platform’s main track is a model of the trains that hauled more freight to and from the area’s steel mills than any of the other local railroads during World War II. Guards were stationed on the P&LE Bridge to prevent sabotage. Also on the far platform, not on track, are antique train cars manufactured by Ives in the 1920s.

Bright red Victoria No. 173 engine of the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad

The far platform’s display includes several wooden depictions of historical landmarks at Homewood Junction on Route 18: the switching and signaling tower, St. Cloud Hotel, and Homewood United Methodist Church. Homewood is an important location in railroad history, as it is the merging point of the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railroad (1850) and the New Castle and Beaver Valley Railroad (1864), connecting our local area with cities beyond. In 1864, a passenger and freight train station was constructed overlooking the scenic Buttermilk Falls. The falls, the highest feature of its kind in Beaver County, was not named thus until a Fourth of July 1870 reunion of Civil War soldiers, who toasted the occasion using the beverage at hand – “Buttermilk.” Soldiers in the next century also had a reason to be glad in Homewood, as local women waited at Homewood Junction with sandwiches and coffee for trains carrying the troops.

Can you spot Marilyn Monroe?

At the Junction itself, the Pennsylvania Railroad would at one time employ over 100 men in its maintenance department alone. The Homewood Stone Quarry was also an important local industry, supplying much of the sandstone for the early construction in our region. The church housed Homewood’s first schoolhouse in the early 1900s until the school building was constructed. One schoolteacher, Miss Funkhouser of North Sewickley Township, rowed her boat across the Beaver River and walked up the hill daily to get to work – think about her the next time you are tempted to grumble about your commute! Another example of dedication to one’s vocation is James Wood, after whom the Homewood is thought to be named. Born in New York City in 1789, former river boat captain Wood settled in Pittsburgh at age 46, and became a factor in the building of the city, establishing a cotton mill, saw mill and an iron furnace and rolling mill in Pittsburgh. Then, on the bank of the Beaver River in what is now Wayne Township, Wood constructed the Homewood Iron Furnace which operated from 1858-68. Homewood’s legacy is certainly rich with the values of hard work and dedication.

Toward the end of summer, the far platform’s display will change to honor the Pittsburgh Steelers with items from Charlene Murray’s collection including a Steelers bus station with a sign that lights up one letter at a time, Steeler figurines from early 2000s, a talking trolley with Myron Cope on board broadcasting the game and an impressive collection of Terrible Towels.

Attractive engineer's caps and whistles are for sale in our gift shop

The platform in the gift shop features an O gauge Coca-Cola train and a diorama that will change with the seasons. On display throughout the Museum are several other treasures, including three model Pullman passenger coaches from the late 30’s to early 40’s, a hobo’s railroad spike whistle machined by a “retired hobo” on antique machinery, some vintage local railroad pictures, literature, tickets, old four-sided railroad lanterns and other railroad memorabilia.

Museum Shop - Be sure to stop in to our gift shop for a railroad-related souvenir, including an engineer’s cap ($4.95 each) and a wooden train whistle ($1.25 each), or a host of other high quality books, booklets, historic prints, afghans and other items that are great as gifts. [more]

Beaver Rotary Club to Serve as Volunteer Greeters - For the third straight year, as part of its enduring commitment to furnishing community service, members of the Rotary Club of Beaver will serve as volunteer greeters four times during the exhibit season.

Model Railroad Background - People began making models of railroad cars shortly after creation of the real things in the mid-18th century. The first complete train “system”, however, was not available until 1891, when Märklin, a German company, introduced a series of standard track gauges, track sections, locomotives, rolling stock, and matching accessories. By 1900, Märklin was producing four different gauges. In the past 100 years, that number has mushroomed. Today, the most popular scales include #1 (1:29), O (1:48), S (1:64), HO (1:87), and N (1:160). In 1972, Märklin introduced what is still the smallest model railroad scale, Z (1:220). For example: the 2004 Märklin Snow Plow Train has four cars and measures 8 11/16 inches long.

Curator Bob Frederick with his creations

About Curator Bob Frederick – is a lifelong model railroader. As a young boy growing up in his Marion Hill home in New Brighton, he remembers saving paper route money to buy engines, track and cars from Bestwick Hardware on the main street. “I have always been fascinated with train sets,” he claims, now with more than 60 years of collecting. He recalls every Thanksgiving after dinner he and his father would empty the dining room of everything but the carpet and the curtains – the table, chairs, buffet and china closet all went to the third floor with the blessing of his mother, also a train enthusiast who accompanied Bob to train shows well into her elder years. He and his father would fill the living room with a train platform that stayed up through Easter!

Hours - Saturdays 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sundays 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Corporate Sponsors – Strassburger, McKenna, Gutnick & Gefsky (Gold) – Williams Companies (Silver) – Eaton Corporation (Bronze).

--by Paula Soto

Bring your kids and grandkids to visit the museum to be fascinated by this exhibit!