Museum to Host Model Trains & Yard Sale

March 21, 2025
By Kiran Ofei-Amoh

Calling all model train enthusiasts! The Pickerington Historical Society is hosting a free model train exhibit alongside its annual indoor yard sale from April 4-6, at the museum (15 East Columbus Street).

The event will feature six different layouts of American Flyer model trains on display on the upper level of the museum. Families can also enjoy a scavenger hunt and a railroad-themed photo op for kids.

Local train enthusiasts Mike Raynard and Kevin Tinkler from Central Ohio S Gaugers will be present to answer questions about the exhibit, and on Sunday, Tony Mills will be impersonating longtime Pickerington Railroad operator Clyde Leach. Other museum exhibits will also be open for visitors.

Mills hopes the event will help people appreciate the impact of railroads on small towns like Pickerington in the 19th and 20th centuries, saying:

“I’d like to help folks understand how the railroad benefited a small village like Pickerington beginning in 1880. From that little depot, one could purchase a ticket and be connected by rail to anywhere tracks were laid in the United States.”

The train exhibit will be open on the museum’s upper level:

In this 1911 photograph, Clyde Leach stands beside the Pickerington Railroad Depot. Leach held the longest tenure of any of the village’s depot agents.

Friday: 8 a.m. – 1 p.m. & 6 p.m. – 8 p.m.
Saturday: 8 a.m. – 8 p.m.
Sunday: 2 p.m. – 4 p.m.

The indoor yard sale will take place on the museum’s lower level:

Friday & Saturday: 8 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Sunday: 2 p.m. – 4 p.m.

Donations for the yard sale will be accepted through April 3. Those interested can contact Peggy Portier at peggy.portier@gmail.com.

Portier encourages visitors to stop by the yard sale while attending the train exhibit, saying:

“At the yard sale, you never know what treasures you might find, and on Sunday afternoon, there will be big discounts. We’re excited to host the model train exhibit—it’ll be fun for all ages!”