Decades of volunteering behind the Lake Superior Railroad Museum’s model trains

Decades of volunteering behind the Lake Superior Railroad Museum’s model trains

The model trains have been running at the Lake Superior Railroad Museum for decades now, with volunteers making it all possible.

At the center of the Lake Superior Railroad museum lies the ginormous model railroad display, where decades of volunteering has made it one of the biggest attractions at the museum.

The organization that looks over the model trains is known as the Lake Superior Transportation Club. It was founded all the way back in February of 1973, with the original purpose to build a model HO scale railroad.

You’ll find tons of Northland inspiration on the rails of this miniature North Shore replica. From the ore docks resembling the ones in Two Harbors, the vibrant West Duluth corner, to even the mining companies printed on the train cars, these volunteers have thought of everything.

The volunteers work to maintain the rails and trains to prevent any derailments on the tracks. They work to clean and switch out the rails and trains, while at the same time coming up with new things to implement.

To find our more about the Lake Superior Transportation Club you can check out their Facebook page right here.

And these volunteers have put in decades of work. “When I was in first grade, I first saw this layout. And I said, “What?! I got to be part of this organization,” says Jay Sharpe. He’s been a part of the Lake Superior Transportation Club for 38 years.

Inside of the display building, one quick duck under some rails and you’re inside the control room of the entire model railroad. The trains are able to move when an electrical current is turned on through the track. No batteries are needed. The volunteers are able to control which trains can run, their speed, and they can even give power to the visitors.

Buttons are found on the outside of the display, all activating different trains throughout the display. The two biggest trains can be activated with the buttons and run on a timer, but there’s also little trains that you can activate in the different scenes that move and then move back to their positions.

Making it interactive and fun for the visitors, especially the kids. “They come running up to the layout and they push the buttons right away. And just instant smile comes on their face.” Says Matt Skudstad. “They’ll spend an hour just walking around the layout and looking at all the little details and just take it all in.”