Today we’d like to introduce you to Lee Witten And Mike Murphy.
Hi Lee Witten and Mike Murphy, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Mike Murphy and a few other men organized a model train club 35 years ago. They would meet in each other’s homes. Their membership grew and today there are about 161 members throughout northern Utah and a few other states. The club puts on a model train festival the first weekend of March in the Ogden Union Station. Thousands attend the festival each year.
Every Christmas Holiday season , the Hostler Club sets up some of their modules in the north end of Newgate Mall from Thanksgiving to a day or two after Christmas. This has become a popular event for the mall. We have known of other model train clubs using empty store fronts as a place to display the hobby of model trains. Through the work of Mike Murphy and the management at Newgate Mall, an arrangement was made to lease a space in 2021.
A new separate group called the Hostler Model Railroad Museum was formed. Some of the Hostler club members also joined the museum membership. By May of that year we began to create the museum by building a layout structure to depict the area between Ogden and Echo Canyon. We began with a wood understructure to which we attached track and scenery producing a depiction of several locations along the route. These locations are Riverdale rail yards, Washington Terrace, Weber Canyon, Morgan, Taggarts curve, Croydon, Echo, Echo Canyon and Park City and returning to Ogden Union Station.
We have a building crew of several skilled members who do the majority of the work such as electrical, scenery, and buildings. Among the 92 museum members, many volunteer to keep the museum open for visitors 4 days a week from 11 a.m. to 6 or 8 p.m by doing 3 1/2 hour shifts. Members can bring their own trains to run. Repeat visitors can see different trains each time. We get visitors from the local area but also we’ve had many of them from other U.S. states, Canada, Australia, Europe and Asia.
As of this writing, the layout is a work in progress. The main construction is finished but there are a lot of detail work yet to be done. This is educational for the visiting public as they can see the work being done or visit often to see the progress.
Photographs, art work and model displays are on the walls of the room. We have a small library of railroad and modeling subjects available to members and the public. We keep the museum open free for visitors with our members taking shifts where they can operate their own trains on the layout for visitors to enjoy.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Most ventures of this sort are not free of challenges. Raising funds to keep our lease and buy supplies to build the layout are a continual challenge. We are a 501(c3) non profit organization so we can accept donations tax free. One source of income is a service we provide to individuals and families who have model train collections of deceased family members. We have a close relationship with the Hostlers Model Railroad Club who conduct auctions and sales of the collections and donate part of the proceeds to the museum. We have local businesses who support us with donations of money or materials.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
The Hostler Model Railroad Museum is a cooperative of model train enthusiasts. Each play a roll in creating and/or administrating, and volunteering to produce the museum.
What was your favorite childhood memory?
Lee’s father was a railroad Conductor with the Union Pacific. He would take Lee to visit his caboose in the 1940’s. He fell in love with trains and when 5 years old, He received a Lionel train set from “Santa”. That sealed the deal. He’s loved model trains ever since.
Mike also had a Lionel set in the 40’s and his father built a layout for the family. That began his love for model trains.
Pricing:
- We do not sell merchandise as a model train shop. We do have some minor souvenirs such as tee shirts. Our agreement with the mall prohibits being a retail establishment.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.hmrrm.org
