Crossville Model Railroad Club Exhibit Returns

The Crossville Model Railroad Club has reopened its “Wonderful World of Trains” exhibit at the Crossville Outlet Center.

The model train sets change each season. This summer’s main train set is carnival themed. Public Relations Director Ann Grogitsky said since closing because of COVID-19, the club has worked hard to update the exhibit to prepare for this weekend.

“We are really excited, because we have been waiting for this time when we could open up to the public,” Grogitsky said. “We are really looking forward to seeing the public and seeing all the little kids.”

Grogitsky said visitors can find five different scaled train sets. Usually, railroad clubs only have one scale. Grogitsky said occasionally, the club will turn the lights off to the exhibits to create a night scene.

“We have a lot of our buildings lit up,” Grogitsky said. “At times, we turn the lights off and just have the train lights going. It looks totally different, and it is really pretty.”

The Crossville Railroad Club is the largest club in the Southeast that runs only by donations. Grogitsky said the Crossville Model Railroad Club has reopened with limited hours. The new hours are Fridays from noon to 4:00 p.m., Saturday 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and Sunday noon to 4:00 p.m. The exhibit is free to everyone.

“Our club will be 20 years old next year,” Grogitsky said. “We started back in 2001. We have been at this particular place since 2004. We started with around 11 to 12 members, and now, we are up to 60 members.”

The five operating scales are ‘G’, ‘O’, ‘HO’, ‘N’ and ‘Z.’ The different scales are compared to the original train. The largest scale is the ‘G’ scale which is 1:29. The smallest scale is the ‘Z’ scale at 1:220. Grogitsky said upgrades included replacing all the rails on the ‘G’ line from brass to steel.