Every year, hobbyists, makers and tinkerers from across the model train world come together to build the toy train displays of the whimsical holiday exhibition, Muzeo Express. The 2020 Muzeo Express exhibition features pop culture favorites like Thomas the Train and Disney’s Radiator Springs and traditional holiday scenes like Polar Express and 18 Gauge. As visitors explore the galleries, they learn about the hobby of model trains, the various gauges (these are not your average toys), and how model trains operate (some of them even run on real steam!) The exhibition itself takes six weeks – sometimes more! – to come together and countless hours of detailed work with tiny tools, sophisticated electrical engineering, and creative crafting. Of course, 2020 was a year like no other. After two months in development, the exhibition was open for a single fleeting weekend before the spread of COVID necessitated Muzeo close our galleries for the remainder of the holiday season.
We couldn’t let the exhibition pass without sharing some of the amazing stories of Muzeo Express 2020 with you! In this casual zoom panel event, hobbyists will share their favorite stories behind the making of Muzeo Express – like the thrill of driving a beautifully restored Model T Depot Hack down Western Blvd. after 18 years in storage (it was refurbished just for this exhibition). They’ll share their inspiration for the scenes, the technical aspects of creating such detailed and complex displays, and more.
Meet the Experts:
Bill Senyak, Wayne Sheriff, Steve Waller, Mike Getscher (VP COO of Battleship Iowa Museum), Glen Olsenn, and others from the TCA/TTOS (Train Collectors Association/Toy Train Operating Society) group.
Special Thanks:
This event is organized for Gold Club Members, who support Muzeo with a $100 monthly recurring donation (or annual gift of $1,000 or more). Because of the pandemic, we’re opening the event free to the public for everyone. If you’re interested in becoming a Gold Club Patron, please don’t hesitate to reach out to Executive Director Katie Adams Farrell at katie@muzeo.org for more information.
Special thanks to Board Members Elisa Stipkovich, Mayor Pro Tem Steve and Susan Faessel, Bill Taormina of Clean City and Ryan Hall for your enthusiastic support of the Muzeo Express Exhibition and the Gold Club Patron Program.
And of course, many thanks to our many volunteers and partners who made the 2020 exhibition possible, including the Southern California Raleway Museum, Train Collectors Association, and Toy Train Operators Society.
