ScaleTrains, a manufacturer of HO, N, and S Scale model trains, will be visiting the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum to celebrate the organization’s 60th Anniversary on two weekends: Oct. 16 & 17, 23 & 24. The event will take place at Grand Junction, 4540 Turntable Road in Chattanooga, and is open to everyone.
Founded in 1961 by Paul H. Merriman and Robert M. Soule Jr., TVRM has grown to become one of the most well-known railroad museums in the United States. Thanks to its dedicated team of employees and volunteers, TVRM maintains and operates historic rail equipment that includes famous Southern Railway steam engines 630 and 4501, along with many other important diesel locomotives and passenger cars that are significant to the southeast region.
The 60th Anniversary weekends kick off a yearlong celebration of the museum’s history.
Both weekends, the two steam locomotives will be pulling passenger trains out of Grand Junction, with Southern 4501 returning for the first time in over a year. While at the celebration, visitors can see the latest HO and N ScaleTrains on display. The model railroad company will bring its Road Trip truck and RV trailer the first weekend and on the following weekend, they will set up a display in the model railroad building.
Additional activities include:
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Special event displays;
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Blacksmith demonstrations;
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WWII reenactments; and
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Nighttime steam and diesel locomotive photo shoots.
Attending the celebration is part of the model train maker’s “Road Trip”: a 50 State tour that allows ScaleTrains to visit with hobbyists at model railroad clubs, railroad museums, and train-watching hotspots. The Road Trip is the first of its kind in the model railroad hobby industry and is helping the company to connect with its customers in an unprecedented way.
“More than a year ago, we began talking about how to reach people in areas of the country that do not have a national level or large regional train show,” said Shane Wilson, president of ScaleTrains.com. “Over time, the idea evolved into also exhibiting at regional train shows; attending special events at railroad museums; setting-up at full-scale railroad festivals; hosting train-watching days at railfan hotspots; and more. With that, the Road Trip was born.”
ScaleTrains recently acquired a truck and RV so that the company can travel everywhere and set-up anywhere. This will allow the model train maker to visit all 50 states over the next two years. The truck and RV are decorated in the company’s colors and include the logos of the Road Trip’s official partners.
ScaleTrains was founded in 2014 and is headquartered in Benton, Tennessee. The company offers four brands of model trains in three scales: Museum Quality, Rivet Counter, Operator, and Kit Classics. Its model railroad products currently include diesel locomotives, steam locomotives, freight cars, passenger cars, shipping containers and more.
“As a sponsor of the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum’s year-long 60th anniversary celebration, we look forward to sharing our favorite hobby with guests during both kick-off weekends. We appreciate our relationship with this world class railroad museum and they’re commitment to preserving railroad history.” officials said.