Wilmington Railroad Museum
Hours of Operation
Closed Sunday
April 23 through May 22, 2014
Sunday: 1:00 - 4:00 PM
Support the Museum
Special Notice - Many local businesses are supporting the great work of the Museum as it enters a new era of service. Click on "a business" below to see who is helping!
Click Here to find out about how you can add your support:
as an individual/family
as a business!
Events
SPECIAL NOTICES & CALENDAR OF EVENTS FOR THE WILMINGTON RAILROAD MUSEUM
CHRISTMAS TRAIN & LIGHT SPECTACULAR
. Newest edition of this great holiday extravaganza. Stroll through the Musuem to see 20,000 twinkling lights & music, Christmas layouts (with snow!), vist with Santa, enjoy festive decorations, and get some hot cider & cookies afterward. Fridays & Saturdays through Dec. 27, 6:30-8 pm. GENERAL ADMISSION only $5 each, kids under age 2 free.
POLAR EXPRESS FAMILY SHOWS
.The charming holiday classic returns for an 11th season! This favorite program provides a live reading of the story by WWAY-TV personalities, visit with Santa, all the festive decorations in the Museum and hot cocoa afterward! Saturdays & Sundays on DEC 6, 13, 14, 20, 21 at 4:30 & 5:30 pm - TEN SHOWS in all. These shows sell out, so tickets are BY PREPAID RESERVATION - only $5 with kids under age 2 free. Call soon to reserve & purchase your passage on the Polar Express!
NEW HOURS
We're on the off-season schedule now, operating Monday-Saturday 10am-4pm and closed Sundays.
STORY TIME
1st & 3rd Mondays
10:30 a.m.
DESIGNED FOR YOUNG VISITORS. HEAR A STORY OR TWO, HAVE A LITTLE TREAT, GET "CREATIVE" IN THE CHILDREN'S HALL. ONLY $5 PER FAMILY, FREE FOR MEMBERS.
IT�S OFFICIAL � A NEW RECORD
- Longest Model Train -
IT'S OFFICIAL!! Model railroaders from the Museum broke the record for the world's longest model train at Wilmington's new Convention Center, as certified by Guinness World Records (TM)!!
A train consisting of 31 locomotives and 1563 cars was placed on 1000 feet of track in the Convention Center's main exhibit hall. At about 925.55 feet long, this train traveled continuously for 750 feet to surpass the record set by Miniatur Wunderland in Hamburg, Germany in 2008. The World Record Run was witnessed and documented in order to be included among other achievements listed by Guinness World Records.
"BUY A BRICK" WALK - A PATHWAY TO PROGRESS
Our brick walk containing over 200 dedications to supporters of the Museum. Each is custom inscribed with donor's message and is part of the effort to improve the Museum's programs and services. The walk winds around the end of the cabooseand leads to the 1855 station bell, one of the oldest artifacts in the Museum's collection.
Pete Chamberlin Truck Collection Donated to the Museum
Pete and Aggie Chamberlin with the Museum display in the Model Railroad Room. Pete donated his 35-year collection of over 1260 scale model trucks and vehicles to the Museum. One hundred and eleven are on display now. The remaining trucks will be rotated on display from time to time. Also, many will be placed on the operating train layouts when the streets and roads are completed.
Stained Glass Locomotive
Thanks to the artistry of volunteer Mary Lou Bryden, the Museum now has a picture of Locomotive #250 rendered in stained glass. This beautiful piece hangs over the door to
Boy Scout Railroading Merit Badge
The Museum recently hosted a group of Boy Scouts working on Railroading Merit Badge. Here volunteer Roger Wilkie explains some of the fine points of life on the caboose.
Now Would Be the Perfect Time to Become a Volunteer for the Wilmington Railroad Museum!
With exciting changes in new quarters and great visitor reviews, we're putting out a call for volunteers to greet visitors, introduce them to the Museum, and help make sure that their visit is pleasant and memorable.
All help is welcome, with particular emphasis on the following areas:
� Greeting guests and issuing tickets.
� Gift shop operations.
� Opening and closing activities.
� Docents and guides.
� Children's activities and group parties.
� Developing new artifact displays.
Training and orientation is provided to acquaint volunteers with the history of the Museum, displays and layouts, operations and procedures, and programs. It's helpful, but not required, to have experience in retail, hospitality, education, libraries, railroads, or cultural activities.
For more information about opportunities in the exciting future of the Museum, contact the Wilmington Railroad Museum at (910) 763-2634.
Model Railroad Committee
On 2nd Tuesday evening each month at 7 PM the Wilmington Railroad Museum Model Railroad Committee meets for some after-hours maintenance and repairs primarily on the HO layout. Wednesday evenings the O-scale group geets together to work on details of the Lionel lines and accessories. Also, a couple of days each week finds modelers refining modules, portable sections of a layout that can be transported to shows or joined with many others who build to the same specifications. All are welcome to join this committee which meets as a group on the first Monday of the month at noon. Our duties include:
� Constructing and maintaining the three operating layouts
� Adding detail and refinements to each layout
� Planning for the annual Model Railroad Show
� Conducting how-to classes in model railroading