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My recent blog regarding the Minnesota Transportation Museum piqued my interest in yet another Saint Paul-based, history of transportation-inspired attraction, The Twin City Model Railroad Museum. Taking advantage of our last day of winter break from school, my kids and I visited the museum on a Tuesday morning last week. Other than a couple of grandparents escorting their children’s children while their parents toiled away at work, we had the place to ourselves.

Founded by a club for model train enthusists that has been around for more than 75 years ago, the museum is an expansive model railroad exhibit that features detailed replicas of the Twin City’s railroad industry during it’s heyday in the 1930′s, 40′s and 50′s. There’s the Minneapolis water front complete with the flour mills, Stone Arch Bridge and St Anthony Falls among other recognizable features. Saint Paul’s railroad past is depicted in representations of the Mississippi Street Roundhouse, the Midway switching yards and the Northern Pacific Como repair shops, which is now Bandana Square, home to the Museum. Weaving its way through the exhibit is an electric street car line, modeled after the Twin City Rapid Transit Company’s street-car system, which operated in Minneapolis and Saint Paul from 1891-1954.

Every Saturday night, through February 25, the Museum’s popular Night Trains event affords the chance to view the exhibit in the evening with the lights turned down and the trains, buildings and streetscapes lighted in full glory. The Toy Train Division is a new attraction available on weekends and features rotating exhibits and interactive displays for kids, such as the Thomas the Tank and amusement park layouts.

In addition to the exhibits, the Museum offers a number of artifacts and archival photos from Minnesota’s railroad history. The Museum also includes a gift shop and children’s play area that will keep the disinterested and younger children occupied while the grown ups and enthralled kids explore the model trains. My children were pretty entertained for the hour plus that we were there, one shooting video of the various trains, the other playing with the wooden train sets.

Located on the second floor of Bandana Square (which is listed on the National Register for Historic Places), the Twin City Model Railroad Museum is open Tuesday-Thursday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.; Friday and Saturday from 1o a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from Noon to 5 p.m. Admission fee is $6, children under 5 are admitted for free. For more information, go to tcmrm.org.