The Biggest Train Set in North Mississippi

WEST POINT, Miss (WCBI) -It’s a tradition almost as old as the rails.

Children, of all ages, love toy trains.

There’s a wonderful setup at the Sam Wilhite Transportation Museum in West Point.

The sights and sounds of nearly 40 thousand man hours are proudly displayed at the Sam Wilhite Transportation Museum.

Hundreds of years of locomotion, compressed into one room, with a whole lot going on.

Curator Terry Craig explains, ” We are the largest H-O scale display in North Mississippi. We’ve got exhibits from the Natchez Trace going through the Tenn-Tom Waterway. I am the building person. I make trees and I make the buildings and paint the little people.”

Terry draws inspiration from his travels.

He says, ” I’ll see something, or cows are going through the field, the trees, the house, and I say, I can build that, I can build that. ”

Four trains chug constantly to every corner of the Golden Triangle, West Point, Starkville, and my home town, the Friendly City.

Terry explains, “Columbus, I’m ready for sidewalks. I’ll expand. That will give me more roads, trees, my people are 3/4 of an inch high, so I’ll get them out and put them in the back.”

The display is so large, it takes a train, with a full head of steam, a minute and a half to make the complete loop.

Terry says, ” It’s a labor of love. You’ve got to enjoy what you are doing and this is fun. It’s a job, but it’s technically fun.”

Fun for all, the museum is open on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

Terry says, ” Kids, you all come over to the Sam Wilhite transportation museum. I guarantee, you’ll get a ticket, and we’ll go somewhere.” So if you are looking for something fun and educational for your children this Summer make a stop in West Point.
Terry says he’s never far from the museum.

He’ll open it on other days if you give him a call first.

The Museum’s phone number is (662) 494-8910

Categories: Local News

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