your portal to more fun in scale model railroading
your portal to more fun in scale model railroading
The mission of the Howell Day Museum of Railroading is to chronicle the history and development of model railroading, and to encourage and inspire those of all ages to become involved in the hobby. The NMRA has opened a world-class museum exhibit, "The Magic of Scale Model Railroading" at the California State Railroad Museum (CSRM) in Sacramento, CA that showcases many of the historical artifacts to outline the history of the hobby over the years. This exhibit, the first by an outside group at the Museum, is designed to the highest standards and contains many of the NMRA's historical artifacts as well as a strong representation of current products and model railroads. The NMRA is also affiliated with the Library at CSRM and NMRA has loaned CSRM our collection of model and prototype books to provide a broader range of materials for all those interested in model railroading. (Note: There is no museum at the NMRA headquarters in Tennessee.)
In 1995, Mr. Howell Day proposed creating a museum entirely devoted to the history and technology of scale model railroading.
Howell Day had modeled trains, began his own model train shop during the heart of the Depression and designed HO model railroad equipment which he later sold through the Red Ball Line, his own company.
Howell Day was able to attend the dedication of the Museum in 2000 and accept the donation of several exhibits, including that of Cliff Springmeier.
The dream of building the model railroading museum lives on through the efforts of patrons like you. As noted above, the NMRA has opened an exhibit at the California State Railroad Museum that features many historical model railroad artifacts, including many models from Howell Day's collections. The exhibit contains a wide variety of rare and unique models and model railroads to educate and share the hobby with the public. It is a first in the world of top-level museum exhibits.
Replica of Howell Day's LehighValley "Dorothy" Inspection Engine
Write: Howell Day Model Railroad Museum
P.O. Box 1328, Soddy Daisy, TN 37384-1328
Phone: (423) 892-2846
Email: museum [at] nmra.org