The Train Gallery features 21 Trains and 10 Operating Model Layouts.
Virtual Train Gallery Tour
All aboard! Explore the Wenham Museum’s Bennett E. Merry Train Gallery through this immersive 360-degree virtual tour. Click “Enter” below and through the power of the web, you’ll be right inside the Wenham Museum! Walk through the train gallery as if you were here in the museum. Then jump into various train layouts to see model trains whiz past as if you were there. Take the Virtual Tour >>
Special Thanks to our friends at VRtical Media for this wonderful tour!
Model Trains and Railroads
BENNETT E. MERRY TRAIN GALLERY
Train fans of all ages delight in the Bennett E. Merry Train Gallery featuring 10 operating model layouts—in G, O, HO, N, and Z gauges—with 21 trains that operate with the push of a button. Railroad artifacts, memorabilia, large-scale models and antique toy trains are also on display.
Model train and railroad experts are on hand to answer your questions, discuss scenery building and layout construction, and offer advice to railroad hobbyists.
We’re always looking for more folks to bring aboard! If you are a model railroad enthusiast and would be interested in volunteering in the museum’s train gallery, please contact our Train Curator, Rob Flanagan via e-mail or phone at (978) 468-2377, ext. 111.
The Transcontinental Railroad
GRENVILLE DODGE
While visiting the Train Gallery, discover the story of Grenville Dodge, a North Shore native who was instrumental in the Transcontinental Railroad. Dodge, born in Danvers, Massachusetts in 1831, began working on railroads at age 14 by building the railroad spur from the Eastern Railroad to the Lander ice houses on Wenham Lake in 1845.
After Lincoln was elected at the start of the Civil War, Dodge entered the Union Army at the rank of Major General. He continued building railroads when he wasn’t leading troops in battle. After the Civil War, he was recruited by President Lincoln to lead the construction of the Union Pacific segment of the Transcontinental Railroad. Dodge became the chief engineer and supervised the construction as the railroad project headed west until it met with the Central Pacific Railroad in 1869.
Visiting Model Trains
Learn more about special visiting model trains that may be at the Wenham Museum soon, such as the LEGO Train and the NMRA Hub Model Railroad on our Calendar of Events.
Salem News – Wenham Museum Train Video
New England Train Museums and Train Rides
Looking for more train-related fun for all ages? Browse our listing of train-related activities and historic railroads in New England.