AUGUSTA — Whether making a first-time discovery of model trains chugging along the tracks or remembering days gone by, family members of all ages will delight in the sights and sounds of the upcoming Model Railroad Celebration at the Maine State Museum.

The two-day event runs from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Friday, Dec. 5,  and from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 6. Admission is free both days.

The celebration will feature two clubs, the Great Falls Model Railroad Club and the Maine 3-Railers. Club members will set up and operate a variety of layouts with G, HO, and O-gauge model trains and accessories. Members of both clubs will be available to answer questions about model railroading.

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.

For more information, call 207-287-2301 or visit www.mainestatemuseum.org.

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