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AUGUSTA — Whether making a first-time discovery of model trains chugging along the tracks or revisiting memories of days gone by, family members of all ages can experience the sights and sounds of the annual Model Railroad Celebration from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 1, and 9 a.m. to 4 Sunday, Dec. 2, at the Maine State Museum, 230 State St.
Admission to the museum is free both days.
The celebration features the Maine 3-Railers Club, a O-gauge model railroad club with more than 60 members from around the state. The club’s winter scene layout this year includes a special model sawmill in operation.
The link between model trains and the holidays has an historic connection. The first regularly scheduled passenger train in the United States began in 1830 on Christmas Day. Toy trains appeared soon after, as railroads came into regular use. Long before electricity was a mainstay in homes, children and adults constructed model, motorized trains that ran on steam power.
Trains figure prominently in the museum’s collections. Most notably, the 1846 Lion — one of America’s earliest surviving steam locomotives — continues to be a popular attraction as it greets visitors at the museum’s entrance.
