Dates
November 20- 26
Closed Thanksgiving Day
NOVEMBER NEW HOURS!
November Hours: 9:00-5:00 Monday through Saturday
November Hours: 1:00-5:00 on Sunday
Location
Century of Flight Hangar
Cost
FREE – Planes and Trains is free to the public.
About
For the 15th year the Middle Georgia Model Railroad Club will kick off the holiday season with one of Middle Georgia’s largest model train displays at the Museum of Aviation during Thanksgiving week. The “Planes and Trains” exhibit is free to the public November 20 – November 26. The Museum will be closed on Thanksgiving Day.
The Century of Flight Hangar will be the site of large model train displays and other railroad related exhibits. The club will have a HO-Scale train display that will feature up to 9 trains running continuously on 3 main lines through landscape scenes with miniature buildings, cars, bridges, rivers, buildings, and an airport. Additional trains will be doing switching at model industrial sites and many of the modules offer points of interest. The Christmas On30-Scale layout returns this year. The club will also have a large N-Scale T- Trak/Foam-rail layout which also features a forestry module with Smokey the Bear and a drive-in. An O-Scale Lionel layout inside the large G-Scale floor display. An HO-Scale “Thomas the Tank” Engine layout on Sodor Island. The Z-Scale T-Trak layout will return this year. The MGMRC adds new modules and interest to ensure the displays are changed every year. The Museum Planes and Trains display will also include the addition of exhibits from the Southeastern Railroad Museum, Operation Lifesaver, area Welcome Centers and others. There will also be a commercial vendor with train-related items available. Raffle tickets will be sold for a model train starter set.
MGMRC members will be on hand to answer questions about model trains and the hobby of model railroading. The MGMRC has been around since the 1970s and currently has about 42 members. They hold a public meeting at the IHOP restaurant, 2710 Watson Boulevard, Warner Robins on the third Tuesday of every month (except November and December) and invite anyone interested in learning about model railroading to come and join their meeting. See our web site at MGMRC.org.
Planes and Trains began as a request by the Museum to place a train around their Christmas Tree in 2008. Joe Udemi was a volunteer in the museum restoration area, as well a a member in the Middle Georgia Model Railroad Club. Through Joe, the model railroad club not only placed a G-scale train around the Christmas tree, but also setup up an 8 module HO-Scale display and a small N-scale display. This first display in the Museum of Aviation by the Middle Georgia Model Railroad Club was not named at the time or advertised. However, by word of mouth, the normal visitor count was tripled during the display. The Museum asked the MGMRC to setup again the following year. Through the coordination with the Museum, the display received the name Planes and Trains. They’ve been on display each year ever since!
Location
The Century of Flight Hangar at the Museum of Aviation is the site of large operating layouts and other railroad-related exhibits.
