G Scale - Overhead
Look up while you're in the O Scale room and you'll catch it: G scale trains running on a suspended track along the length of the ceiling above. It's a full running layout in its own right, just built to be seen from below.
The Exhibits
Three Scales, One Railroad
The museum runs three separate model railroads, each built to a different scale, plus two bonus stops: a G scale track overhead and a real Santa Fe caboose you can walk inside.
I
Exhibit One · O Scale
O Scale - Mabank
This exhibit takes its name from Mabank, and it does include a recreation of the town: the local train depot and the Dairy Queen next door. But it's not a literal scale copy of the real place. It's O scale, one of the larger and more detailed scales in model railroading, and the layout stretches well beyond the town itself, with hand-carved cliffsides, a Route 66 city square, and its own train station built into the larger scene.
A classic steam locomotive runs the line.
II
Exhibit Two · HO Scale
HO Scale - Santa Fe
HO is the most common scale in the hobby, and this layout shows why it's a favorite: enough room to build real scenery, tight enough to keep a train running end to end. A red, white, and blue locomotive leads the way, and a scale model of the Santa Fe caboose rides along on one of the Santa Fe train sets.
The scenery here runs long. Cliffsides give way to a city strip that stretches past several bridges, so there's always another section worth following.
III
Exhibit Three · N Scale
N Scale - Shipping and Transfer
N scale trades size for scope, and this layout uses that trade well: a full shipyard, mountainous terrain, and a working freight economy built around it. Coal mining operations and coal transfer trucks keep the line busy, moving freight just like the two exhibits before it.
Bonus Exhibits
Two More Worth Finding
Two extra stops round out the visit: one above your head, one you can walk into.
The Real Santa Fe Caboose
Outside the museum sits the real thing: a fully refurbished, air-conditioned Santa Fe caboose. Step inside and get a feel for what life on the rails actually looked like. This is the one exhibit here you get to walk through instead of just look at.