The September-October 2025 edition of the club newsletter is a little late getting out, but it was intentional. I wanted to visit each of the museums to capture some Halloween spirit. This edition is more pictures than stories, and is all Halloween! The pictures featured in the newsletter are posted here in a higher resolution format so you can enjoy more detail.
Wayzata Depot Garden Railroad
Roger Baumann created the Halloween train that runs on the Wayzata Depot Garden Railroad layout. If there were a contest between the museums for best Halloween train, Roger’s train wins hands down. It is running Sundays through October.
When Roger’s Halloween train isn’t running in Wayzata, the “Snoopy Train” is running, and this is a kid favorite all summer long. Other cartoon or fairy tale characters also sometimes take their turn on this train.
Jackson Street Roundhouse
Minnesota Transportation Museum
There is a detailed Halloween scene to the left of the big jack-o-lantern that you need to look closely to pick out. Hints of Halloween show up in various spots, and of course there are car loads of Halloween items.
This layout operates Wednesdays and Saturdays year-round, with the Halloween theme running through October.
Twin City Model Railroad Museum
The building of the haunted house was detailed in the previous edition of this newsletter. Here it is on the layout with its flickering porch light and nearby grave yard. It is an interactive display item. Visitors push a button to cycle through 4 different light and sound effect sequences.
The Halloween train here has been around for a few years. The jack-o-lantern load is new this year. Additional new cars are in planning stages for next year.
The best opportunity to see Halloween here is “Spooky Trains”, a special version of Night Trains running Saturdays Oct. 18 & 25, and Nov. 1, 3-7PM.
Volunteers Needed!
All three of the museums featured here are in need of volunteers. Visit these museums and talk to the volunteers already enjoying their time at their respective museum. Find out how you can spend some of your free time doing community service that most often feels more like just playing.
