mainegardenrailwaysociety2023

The L.L. Bean Model Train Village is back and operating from 9am to 9pm daily.  You can visit it in the Children's Department on the second floor of the Flagship Store at 95 Main Street in Freeport. This operating layout was provided by and is supported by the Boothbay Railway Village. Through the Village Lighted Carousel with Music Skating under the bridge       Triangle Service in the 1920s??? Making Snow Angels               Trains and Skating Rink Video

Today Paul Corbett and other MGRS members set up the "Maine Train Lines" display for the 2017 Westbrook Festival of Trees. The Festival is open from December 2-9 and is open to the Public. Admission is free. Businesses sponsor trees, and visitor donations are welcome. All proceeds support local charities in Westbrook. Information can be found at the Festival of Trees Web Site The festival is held at the Westbrook Warren Congregational Church at 810 Main St. in Westbrook. Public parking is available off Church Street which runs between Main Street and the Westbrook Arterial. Here is the schedule Date   Day   Tree Viewing                            Trains Running 12/2    Sat    8:30am-8:00pm                          8am-12:30pm, 6-7:30pm 12/3    Sun   2-7:30pm               ...

Our 8th Annual Holiday Train Display opened at 5pm on Friday, November 19th with a ribbon cutting by Santa. It is part of the "Winter Wonderland". The Winter Wonderland at the Maine Mall is located in the former Bon Ton. The kids can write a letter to Santa, see acts on stage, color, play board games, and watch movies. MGRS is located right next to Santa. He is closest to the Thomas & Percy Platform. Thomas has a loop while Percy runs in a Figure 8. Thanks to Art Shean for providing the Figure 8. Thomas and Percy The Town and Country area has homes, businesses, and entertainment. The trolley line runs from the front of North Conway Station over to the mountains North Conway Station The lighted buildings at the front of the picture belong to Tice Leonard and are made by Lemax. Other building are from Ernie Packard, Terry Norton, Carl Churchill and Sam Carr. You can see the John Jackson Drawbridge at the left rear of this picture. Town and Country The centerpiece of this ye...

The Mall opening time on Friday November 17 has changed to  5:00pm. This is the “soft opening” for employees and families. It will run until 9pm. Once the area opens again at 10am on Saturday, the sliding doors will remain open through December 24 th . So it will be the same as in the past when they layout was in one of the “common areas” of the Mall.

The Model Train Village is returning to L.L. Bean in Freeport from November 17 to December 31. The hours are 9am to 9pm, and it is part of the Northern Lights Celebration Details can be seen at  Northern Lights Celebration Model Train Village

The G-Scale layout at the Topsham Show was featured on the front page of the Brunswick Times-Record on November 6th. Here is the first picture in the article: The article can be viewed at  Model Trains Chug Along In Topsham

Art Shean brought his portable table, trains, buildings and accessories to Mt. Ararat High School in Topsham. The layout has grown to 12' x 20' since it appeared at the Annual Meeting in July. Banner at the Great Falls Show Setup began on Friday at 4pm. Art had help from John Middleton, Ben Braithwaite, and several Great Falls club members. During the event we signed up two new members. Visitors included Doug Johnson, Terry Norton, Jim Jenkins, Ben Braithwaite, Grace Miller, David Blue, Neville Lewis (Sale table), Mike Tarbox, Sam Carr and Scott Gould. Art noted that there were two vendors at the show with G Scale products for sale. We now have an updated Club Photo Book that includes this summer's layout visits and the Mill Field Festival. Paul Smith's Bagley Mountain and Plant Pot Railway are also included. Art and Ben handled the move out with help from some Great Falls members. There were several interesting buildings and layout scenes. Coaling operation - will be c...

Thanks to Terry, here are some pictures from the Mall. We are nearly finished, and will go back in when the Mall is done with their preparation and cleanup. Here is the front of the main platform, overlooking the Thomas & Percy area on the left.  Overlooking Downtown This is a side view of the "Downtown" area. You can see the edge of the Control Area on the right of this picture. There is a lot of ballasting to cover the fuzzy "snow" cloth. Triangle Motors with the Post Office behind Here is the Mountain with the Ski Lift on top and a small train running around half way up. Both are operated by buttons. Mountain with Ski Lift and Train Around The Campground and Farm are beside the Ski Lift and behind the Mountain. You can see the "Portland Harbor" track and "water" on the right of this picture. The open sides of all the tables will be covered with white cloth to block them off. Campground and  Farm Thanks to the crew that worked to set this u...