Buffalo History Museum invites public to celebrate final days of 'Train Gallery'

Buffalo families have one more opportunity to experience The Buffalo History Museum’s “Train Gallery,” which is scheduled to temporarily close on June 3.

A press release stated, “For more than 30 years, the expansive display has featured 1900s replica model trains running on more than 200 feet of track, a scale Erie Canal lock, and 100 miniature handmade buildings portraying 19th century Buffalo and Western New York. The ‘Train Gallery’ has been maintained and operated by the Rail Barons, a longtime dedicated team of volunteers who custom-built the model.

The gallery is closing to make way for the transition of offices from the Julia Boyer Reinstein Center across the parking lot into the lower level where the exhibit is located. Built in the 1920s as a private home and music studio, the Reinstein Center has housed staff offices since 1992. The museum is currently in discussions to redevelop that property into a new attraction.

“I know it is difficult for the Rail Barons and museum visitors to see a beloved exhibit come to a close, and we are grateful for their dedicated support to the gallery,” Buffalo History Museum Executive Director Melissa Brown said. “We have limited space in our historic buildings, and need to make this move as part of our multiyear plan to further activate the entire museum campus.”

Trains in the “Train Gallery” will operate from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays May 20, 27, and June 3.

The press release added, “Museum staff will take great care disassembling the exhibit, storing the model buildings and trains in the museum’s permanent collection for possible inclusion in a new children’s exhibit in the future.”