Railroads on Parade to close; famed train displays to be sold

Railroads on Parade, the attraction that features internationally-famous model train layouts, will be closing permanently as of Oct. 13, according to its creator, renowned set designer Clarke Dunham. The extensive, million-dollar train layouts — featuring cityscapes complete with thousands of intricately-fashioned buildings, people, bridges, vehicles and trees —are to be sold in an online auction scheduled for Nov. 11. Dunham said this week that Adam's Auction & Real Estate Services would be conducting the sale of the layouts through its website, www.adamsauctions.com. "The displays of Railroads on Parade represent half a life's work," he said. The auction is to raise money towards paying off the museum's main investor, which the New York Times has identified as John Couri of Ridgefield, Conn. The Sept. 27 edition of the New York Times featured a story on the fate of Railroads on Parade and the upcoming auction. Dunham and his wife Barbara have unsuccessfully sought out either a new investor or a new site for Railroads on Parade — to keep the attraction in Warren County. He said that after three and a half years situated in Pottersville with far too few visitors patronizing the museum to pay for its expenses, it's become clear that the venue is not a sustainable enterprise in Pottersville. "I wanted the attraction in Pottersville over the objections of my investor," he said. "We took a gamble on creating jobs here in northern Warren County — and this is what can happen." Dunham said that when he reconstructed the former auto parts store into a vast museum to house his extravagant layouts, Pottersville hosted two active attractions, the Wells House hotel, and the local antiques marketplace, Stage Coach Antiques, which featured a dozen or so dealers. Both have since closed down, leaving no tourist attractions besides his museum, he said. "We became the only game in town," he said. Also hampering the venue's success was the redeployment of about $200,000 that had been earmarked for advertising — spent instead on five rest rooms and an extensive fire suppression system, all required by state building code, Dunham said such infrastructure was far more than was actually needed in his museum. With the intent of moving the museum to Lake George — which routinely hosts 30,000 or more tourists per week — the Dunhams had enlisted the help of Lake George Mayor Robert Blais, but no feasible arrangement was secured, Dunham said. "Over the years, Mayor Blais has done everything he could to help us, but nothing has worked out," Dunham said. Via email and on Facebook, by mail and in person, dozens of fans of Railroads on Parade have expressed their regrets about the venue closing and the all-but-certain splitting up of the train layouts, Dunham said. "In this upcoming sale, Barb and I lose everything," Dunham said. "We get nothing out of the auction." Warren County Tourism Director Kate Johnson said Tuesday that the museum's closure and auction was a distressing development. She noted that the county tourism officials recently brought 50 tour operators — both domestic and international — to the county for a "familiarization tour," and Railroads on Parade was a featured attraction. She said that Railroads on Parade really impressed the tour operators, and it was a key reason one of them decided to book future tours to Warren County, she said. "I hope someone steps forward to keep this collection in Warren County," she said. "It is so valuable, and we've been so fortunate to have it housed here." But Dunham said that it was highly unlikely at this point that any top bidder in the auction would want to keep the displays in Warren County — they'd most likely move them to New York City or another high-profile tourist destination, he said. Railroads on Parade museum has been lauded as having potential as a national attraction — and providing a welcome boost to tourism in northern Warren County. Town of Chester Supervisor Fred Monroe said he was disappointed to see Railroads on Parade move out of his municipality. "It's sad to see it leave town — it's a world-class attraction and we had high hopes for its success here," he said. "The museum has wonderful displays that represent a tremendous amount of work — the museum just needs a bigger audience than is available here in Pottersville." Dunham is the creator of the famed Citicorp train display in New York City as well as extensive model train layouts in Cincinnati, Chicago, Omaha and Williamsburg, Va. that have been viewed by more than 5 million people. The Citibank train display, the core of the museum's collection, represents over 110,000 hours of craftsmanship, or 55 years of work invested, Dunham estimated. Railroads on Parade will be open over the next two weekends: from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday Oct. 4 and 5, plus Oct. 11 and 12 — then from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Columbus Day, Monday Oct. 13. The venue is located on state Rte. 9 in downtown Pottersville.

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Railroads on Parade to close; famed train displays to be sold

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