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Get into the holiday spirit by visiting the Mid-Mon Valley Model Railroad Club, which will be open to the public again this Holiday season.  The club is working to depict the major industries in the Mid-Mon Valley as they interacted with the railroads.

Enjoy an old-fashioned holiday tradition by visiting the miniature railroad display in New Eagle.

Visitors can walk through three rooms of scenery as the trains run on a double-decked layout and use the helix (spiral) in a fourth room to travel from the lower level to the upper level and back again.  Along the way, one can see a blast furnace, a rolling mill, a strip-mine, coke ovens, a railroad yard and a trolley line.  There have been several other improvements made to the layout this year.  More scenery has been completed and several structures have been added.  Historical artifacts from area railroads are on display in the last room and photographs line the hallway toward the roomful of artifacts.  Items to be seen include trainmen's lanterns, switch locks, tickets, timetables, caps, signal lights and many other fascinating objects.

The club will be open on weekends from November 27, 2021 through January 9, 2022.  (There is an exception: the club will be closed on Christmas Day and New Year's Day.)  Visitors will be received each Saturday and Sunday from 12 noon until 5:00 p.m.  The club is located on the second floor of 159 Main Street in New Eagle (above the New Eagle Borough Municipal Building).  The wearing of masks is recommended per CDC recommendations.

The Mid-Mon Valley Model Railroad Club was established in 1986 by a group of people interested in railroading and in model railroads. Its goal is to build a layout depicting a sense of the history of Monongahela valley and life in the heyday of the railroads in the area.  The club has displayed its modular layout (the traveling units, not the permanent layout in New Eagle) at the August Fun Fest at Cedar Creek Park. The club’s funds come from modest dues and a couple of fundraisers during the year.  Most of the trains running on the layout belong to the individual members of the club. 

Membership is open to anyone with an interest in model railroading, regardless of skill level.  Junior members, age 10 – 18, are welcome with an adult sponsor.  Members are all members of the National Model Railroad Association.  Membership has remained fairly steady at about 12 – 15 members through the years.  Meetings, work sessions, and eventually, operating sessions are held Friday evenings from 7:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.  Individuals interested in membership should talk with one of the members during a visit.  More information is available on the website:  www.mmvmrrc.org  

Although there is no admission fee, visitors are encouraged to donate to the layout fund in the caboose-shaped box located near the entrance.  Suggested donation levels are at least $1.00 per person.  Coloring pages and publications about the hobby are available free of charge to children of all ages.

Seeing model trains at the Holidays is a wonderful tradition.  Make New Eagle a stop on your Holiday tour.  For further information, call S. Werner at 724-379-8584.

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