Roads and Rails Museum, Frederick, Maryland

Frederick, Maryland, a suburb of Washington D.C., is the second largest city in the state. It is a town rich in history that has many great treasures to include the Museum of Civil War Medicine, the home of Barbara Fritchie, a Unionist during the Civil War who was part of American folklore, the Carroll Creek Walk and Baker Park. You also had the Battle of the Monocacy which took place on the south side of the town. It is a major crossroads with the National Road (U.S. 40) and U.S. 15 as well as Interstate 70 with Interstate 270 and U.S. 340 branching south. With all of this, it is easy for a place like the Roads and Rails Museum to be easily overlooked… but it should not be.

From the outside, it is just an old brick building. You enter the building, and you see a store that sells train stuff. You say to yourself, “This cannot be it.”

This is not it. You pay the admission, and then… you have officially been transported into a whole new world. You find yourself in the subway station, but you thought that this was just model trains. Then you walk a little further. A new world has just opened. The trains are everywhere. Trains are going through the farms, passing through the towns, passing through cities, going around the mountains, passing by waterfalls, passing through tunnels and over bridges. You stop to watch the circus, but you must move on because the volcano is about to erupt. All this is going on as you make your way though, and then… you find yourself back in the store again. You look at the person at the register and ask, “Can I do this again?”

The Roads and Rails Museum features a hobby shop and a model train display that is one of the largest in the United States. They are located at 200 N. East Street in Frederick, Maryland. It is just minutes from Interstate 70 and from U.S. Routes 15 and 40 and a short walk from the historic district and visitor center. They are open Friday to Monday from 10:00am to 5:00pm (12:00pm to 5:00pm on Sunday). Admission is only $10.00 for adults and $5.00 for children. (Three and under are free.) Parking is behind the building and on the street. You can get more information and learn more about the layout at http://www.roadsnrails.com.