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Trains, trains and more trains Experience the Medina Railroad Museum
Trains, tr ains ...
and mor e tr ains
Medina Railroad Museum boasts one of the largest model-train layouts in the country
BY ALLISON DEUTSCHMAN CONTRIBUTOR
Th ere’s always something new to see at the Medina Railroad Museum, 530 West Ave., even though the displays don’t change too often. Th at may be due to the fact that there’s so much to see and study, even frequent visitors discover something new each time they walk through.
The museum showcases a very impressive 204-foot-long, 14-foot wide HO scale model train layout at its center, with local and regional attractions depicted including the Erie Canal, the Letchworth gorge and a baseball field in Medina. Construction is perpetual.
Dawn Winkler, director of operations, has worked on the layout herself over the years.
“All the detail and hard work that goes into it is worth it when you see the looks on people’s faces when they see it for the first time,” she said.
As an anniversary gift to her husband, Ginny Kropf, museum board member and secretary, bought a scale of the aircraft that they once owned and the piece is featured in the layout, along with a fictitious airport named after them, “A.J. Kropf International Airport.”
The museum occupies the old New York Central Railroad freight depot and Kropf has been involved with it since the early 1990s.
“Founder Marty Phelps was a friend, and I toured the building with him after he bought it, when it was full of debris and just an old freight house. I thought he had lost his mind. But just look at what he did!” Kropf said.
There is so much attention to detail in the museum that Kropf and fellow board member Joe Kujawa readily admit, each time they visit, they discover something new that they had not noticed before. Seemingly everything that’s related to trains can be found, down to samples of the china that was once used in dining cars and the luggage that riders carried. Also displayed is the uniform that Phelps wore when he served as the conductor on museumarranged train “excursions” to Lockport and back.
When you visit the museum, take a break from trains and check out the displays of model aircrafts and ships from World War I. There’s a robust collection of military gear and firefighting equipment — again in honor of the late Phelps, a retired professional firefighter — and as a nod to local history, a giant Heinz pickle sign also is on display. H.J. Heinz Company once had a processing plant in Medina, practically a stone’s throw from the freight depot.
Themed train rides are among the most popular events at Medina Railroad Museum. There’s a fall foliage ride, the “Polar Express” ride before Christmas and the late-spring biggie “Day Out With Thomas,” a weekend-long celebration of Thomas the Train’s birthday with lots of children’s activities alongside a train ride and access to the museum. This year’s celebration is slated for June 10-June 12. For ticket prices and more information, call 866-468-7630 or go to www.TicketWeb.com. The styrofoam hills of Letchworth State Park as seen in the HO scale model train layout at Medina Railroad Museum. At 204 feet long and 14 feet wide, the layout is said to be one of the largest in the United States.
Ginny Kropf in front of the A.J. Kropf International Airport display at Medina Railroad Museum. A display of World War I model ships can be found at the Medina Railroad Museum.
Thomas the Train will be at Medina Railroad Museum from June 10 through June 12.
An old New York Central System locomotive is stationed at the Medina Railroad Museum.
