Clio Logo

Bellingham Railway Museum

Introduction

Text-to-speech Audio

Opened in 2003, the Bellingham Railway Museum is dedicated to preserving and promoting the city's railroading history. It is located in a storefont space of a large parking structure in downtown Bellingham. The museum features model trains and layouts, numerous railroad-related artifacts, and photographs. The museum is operated by volunteers, some of whom built many of the trains and layouts.

Images

The Bellingham Railway Museum features model trains, model train layouts, photographs, equipment and other railroad items on display.

The Bellingham Railway Museum features model trains, model train layouts, photographs, equipment and other railroad items on display.

Backstory and Context

Text-to-speech Audio

The museum's two model train layouts are at "G-scale" and depict various local industries including logging, mining, and of course, railroading. One of the layouts, the Lionel Layout, features two tracks, a subway track, a lighthouse, gatehouses, and other structures. Visitors are able to operate the trains. The other layout, the G-gauge layout, is the largest of the two and depicts similar scenes as well as a thriving town and an active stockyard. It features standard and narrow gauge trains and some of the engines make realistic sounds. As for the other items on display in the museum, these include railroad equipment, railroad lanterns, and dining car dinnerware.

Sources

"Exhibits." Bellingham Railway Museum. Accessed February 8, 2020. http://bellinghamrailwaymuseum.org/exhibits.

Parker, Hilary. "Train Enthusiast? You Need to Visit the Bellingham Railway Museum with Your Kids." November 14, 2015. https://www.bellingham.org/insider-blogs/train-enthusiast-you-need-to-visit-the-bellingham-railway-museum.

Image Sources(Click to expand)

Bellingham Railway Museum

Additional Information