Railroad museum was derailed during COVID. Now it could be on track for the holidays.

STAUNTON — Miniature trains and small-scaled landscaped settings have been packed up and distributed throughout the many members of the Augusta County Railroad Museum.

The museum lost its location when the Staunton Mall announced it would be closing at the end of 2020. Since then the trains haven't run.

All that will change come closer to Christmas.

According to Lundy Pentz, the president of the Augusta County Model Railroad Club, the museum is attempting to set up some of its layouts in downtown Staunton on the three Saturdays before Christmas.

"Our dream is to be able to rent or, better, own our own space, in some area where people can easily come to visit us and see the trains," Pentz said.

The hope for the downtown setups will be a smaller scale museum, he said, with a few train layouts

The club, which started in 1993, started with a small building on the grounds of a cement plant in Staunton, Pentz said. Since 2001, the club has been incorporated as a nonprofit operating as the Augusta County Railroad Museum. In the beginning, the museum would operate closer to the Christmas holiday.

The museum has seen several different homes since its inception. Starting at the Waynesboro Outlet Village in 2002, then to Arch Avenue in Waynesboro until 2006, moving to Waynesboro's Gateway Plaza Mall.

In 2013, the club started hosting the Shenandoah Valley Train Show at Augusta Expo. By 2014, the club moved from Waynesboro to the Staunton Mall for more square footage.

"When COVID first hit the area we had to cancel the train show and suspend operations at the mall, and after Thanksgiving that year we received notice that we had to vacate the museum by Christmas Eve," Pentz said. "All our stuff is in storage in members' homes and in rental storage spaces and we are actively looking for a new location."

SDDA Director Greg Beam said they are finalizing plans for the Saturdays in December programing with the museum.

"We are excited that the Augusta Railroad Museum will be joining us as part of our holiday happenings during December in downtown Staunton," he said. "The SDDA is very pleased the response and level of participation from the various community partners and business owners who are helping to develop positive experiences for our community and visitors. Organizations such as the Augusta County Railroad Museum are wonderful — they contribute to the charm, nostalgia and magic of the season."

Pentz said what draws people to the museum is the natural appeal of trains — "large, strangely beautiful and complex machines with a colorful history" and a real presence even today.

"Many of our members not only model trains but go out and observe real trains whenever they can," Pentz said. "Most can tell you all about the history or current operations of their favorite railroad. And all of us get an incredible lift from seeing visitors enjoy the trains, remembering past travels by train or toy trains at Christmas, and the special excitement of younger visitors."

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Many of the trains are owned by members of the club who have their own layouts at home, but some have been donated to the museum over the years. They range from big garden railway trains, or G scale, down to the tiny N scale, which are locomotives that may be only three inches long, Pentz said.

"We all have different interests so we run trains from many different railroads and historical eras," he said. "The club members build and maintain the club layouts."

Prior to having its location at the mall, the club was running one G scale, two O scale, two HO scale and two N scale layouts, along with a few smaller layouts.

"Many of them are constructed in standard pieces or modules to make them easy to move and set up in different locations," he added.

The museum has never charged an admission fee, but does accept donations. It would operate every weekend, running trains Friday nights through Saturday afternoons. Additional hours were added between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Normally, the museum would see 4,000 to 5,000 visitors in a typical year. The museum and club is supported from dues from the members, along with donations and what is made from the Shenandoah Valley Train Show.

"Naturally, with no visitors and no train shows, the last 20 months have been difficult for us," Pentz said.

To learn more, visit the museum's Facebook page.

Laura Peters is the trending topics reporter at The News Leader. Have a news tip on local trends or businesses? Or a good feature? You can reach reporter Laura Peters (she/her) at lpeters@newsleader.com. Follow her @peterslaura. Subscribe to The News Leader at newsleader.com.

This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: Augusta Railroad Museum could be on track to bring small museum to Staunton prior to Christmas