UPDATE 1/7/2021 Main Museum to reopen. Museum Gift Shop :

Due to the Governors updated order we will reopen the main museum on January 16th for daytime and Night Trains. Our normal COVID hours will remain in effect for the time being. Saturdays 10am – 2pm (daytime), 3pm – 7pm (Night Trains). In addition, we are still planning to have just the gift shop open this Saturday, January 9th from 10am – 5pm. Note: No museum exhibits will be in operation on this Saturday but they will be on January 16th.

UPDATE 12/16/2020 Museum is still closed. Museum Gift Shop open:

Due to the Governors updated order we will remain closed and hope to reopen on January 16th. We will plan to have the gift shop open this Saturday, December 19th from 10am – 5pm. Stay tuned for more possible gift shop openings.

Refunds will be processed today for anyone that bought tickets between now and then.

UPDATE 11/30/2020 Museum Gift Shop Opening:

Our museum still can’t be open during the 4 week Governor’s Order but we are allowed to open our gift shop. Visit us on December 5th and December 12th from 10-5 each day!  Come shop for new and used trains, toys, books, magazines and more including a TON of donated HO items, plus Lionel, used Ready to Run starter sets and other scales.

We are expanding our gift shop space to accommodate our inventory. This will be similar to our recent garage sale events.  Face masks are required, social distancing must be maintained, and building capacity limits will be monitored. There is no charge to enter the gift shop but please note that the trains and other exhibits will not be operating.  

The gift shop sales revenue will be critical in covering expenses while we experience this second COVID-related closure of the museum. Shop local and support a community non-profit with a purchase at our store! 

UPDATE 11/18/2020:

Due to the uptick in COVID cases statewide the Governor has signed an Executive Order stating that museums like the Twin City Model Railroad Museum must close for the next four weeks. We can reopen on Saturday, December 19th as of today’s order. As a ticket holder for an event during that closed period we will be issuing refunds within 24 hours. We appreciate your support of the museum and thank you for buying tickets and supporting our organization with your dollars.

Closing the museum to slow the spread is necessary and we will gladly do our part but this is going to hurt. Due to inflexibilities with EventBrite we cannot switch dates or change your order to a donation but we ask you to please consider donating to our Paypal on the front page of our website in the lower right or giving at https://www.givemn.org/organization/Tcmrm as part of the Give MN event.

Thank you for your support during these difficult times. Stay safe, stay healthy and we will see you when the tracks are cleared!

UPDATE 7/12/2020:

Dear Friends of the Twin City Model Railroad Museum:

Starting Saturday, July 18th, the Twin City Model Railroad Museum is open every Saturday from 10-5 during our first phase of reopening under new guidelines. We will only be open initially on Saturday’s
from 10am – 5pm.

If you are a return visitor, you will notice some changes as we are adapting our museum to COVID-19 guidelines from the city, state, and CDC. One important change we want to make clear is that there will be no wooden train or LEGO play tables in the Children’s area. We will still have the electric Thomas trains plus all of our other wonderful layouts and exhibits but there is just no feasible way to clean and disinfect each wooden train or LEGO in a timely fashion.

In this first phase we are requiring all guests and volunteers to wear masks and follow socially distancing requirements. If a guest does not have a mask, one can be purchased at the front desk.

Volunteers will be routinely sanitizing buttons and other commonly touched surfaces throughout each shift and a professional cleaner will do an additional cleaning after each Saturday. If you are experiencing any COVID symptoms please visit us another time, you will be denied entry if you are unable to meet these requirements.

We strongly recommend that you purchase your tickets in advance here https://tcmrm.eventbrite.com/ to limit contact required at our front desk. We have created some time slot options in order to help avoid exceeding our building capacity.

To be clear: While most time slots are one hour long we are not going to require you to leave after your time has ended, we just ask for your sensitivity to traffic flow. We are simply limiting ticket sales during our busiest times to ensure a safe experience for all visitors and volunteers.

That said, we will allow walk-up ticket sales at the museum as long as we are not at our COVID capacity limit.

Please follow our Facebook and Twitter pages and our website (tcmrm.org) for the most up to date
info.

The past four months have been unprecedented in all of our lives and for every organization and business worldwide. The Twin City Model Railroad is no exception as our members, volunteers, and supportive friends have done much to demonstrate that “We are all in this together!”. Members
providing Matching Funds to encourage greater giving, the GIVEMN “Giving From Home” Fundraising effort, Member Volunteers stepping up to chair and support a Task Force to Create a COVID-19 Preparedness Plan, a supportive Landlord that has allowed a partial rent deferral during these closed days, some financial help received from SBA disaster funds in partnering with our community Bank, and literally hundreds of expression of support from the larger community in so many ways.

Now begins the process of slowly reopening in a thoughtful way that will demonstrate our commitment to providing a safe and healthy place for our guests, members, and staff volunteers. Our appeal for continuing financial support from members and friends has never been more important. We welcome your return and continuing participation in the future of this 85-Year-old Saint Paul Railroad Icon!

Respectfully
Oscar Lund
President
Twin City Model Railroad Museum