About the museum
Welcome to the Northern Lights Railroad Museum. The museum as it is known today was conceived in 1977 by Mr. John Cummings. John started out by collecting Lionel and HO scale model trains and he looked to meet with others to trade, swap and run trains. The original location was on the second level of the Grand Forks City Center Mall. After the flood of 1997 the club was forced to find a new home. Over time and after much discussion by members it was decided that the museum pursue its' own facilities.
A photo of the Gang Car which was restored by the museum. It is fully operational, and ready to roll! See the Museum page for more photos and other restoration projects.
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New for 2009:
- The museum is adding 500 feet of 90 pound rail and a left-hand switch in its Track Relay project.
- Expansion! Work began this fall on a new addition to the Junction. Click the link for construction photos.
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Casey Holt Junction
On land leased from the Heritage Village Foundation (of East Grand Forks) the museum built a 58 foot by 26 foot building to resemble a train depot. A 32 foot by 17 foot room houses the model railroad layout. The building also includes meeting rooms, a telegraph office with bay window, and a public viewing hall. Just outside the building the club has 300 feet of standard gage railroad track with a restored Great Northern Railway caboose. An operating block signal and motor car house are located just east of the main building. There are plans to increase the track, and new museum pieces are being added.
The Casey Holt Junction building is named for Casey Holt, the son of member Tim Holt.
Operation Lifesaver
The museum would like to make visitors of our site aware of a program designed to promote traffic and pedestrian safety when near trains. Approximately every two hours, a person or a vehicle is struck by a train in the United States, and nearly every instance could have been avoided. Visit the Operation Lifesaver web site for more information. Take a look at our events page for a photo of our members with a car involved in a collision with a train.
