This weekend I visited the Tracy Museum to see the annual model railroad display by the European Train Enthusiasts (ETE).
The Tracy museum is a good setting for the modular train layout to visit as the museum has a number of train related displays.
Throughout the history of Tracy is has been a railroad town.
As this little sign states: Tracy is a Railroad Town since it was founded in 1878.
In this picture you can see the large mural that is in the museum that shows a scene from the olden days of railroads. You can also see the size of the modular train layout. I always enjoy visiting to see what new changes have been made to the modules, or if they have any that haven’t been shown in Tracy before.
Here is a very old map of Tracy showing how different rail lines intersect in the downtown area. The area is known as the bow-tie area and there are still some remnants of the railroads there.
This display case has some more rale related items including a Brakeman Light from 1946. In the background you can also see a map of Tracy when the railroad presence was much higher. There was a large switching yard in the bow-tie area.
In the middle of the bow-tie area there is a large sculpture of a rail man and a farmer. These are the two main historic jobs in Tracy. See my post: Harvest of Progress
I will get another chance to visit the museum on Saturday so will be able to watch more trains travel around the modular display.
Did you ever have a model train?
Steven
See also:
Braman's Wanderings 
Yes, an elaborate setup was constructed on a large piece of plywood elevated on sawhorses (with the help of my carpenter grandfather). My train engine had a headlight and put out smoke!
Yes, I had a model train, and you put pellets in the stack, and it would puff white clouds of smoke, as it ran around the track!
Pingback: Tracy Train Layout | Braman's Wanderings