When I was younger (really during my teenage years) my Dad, brother, and I would take trips throughout the year to the train store. Usually to a place called Northeast Trains in Peabody, Massachusetts. I loved those trips (45 minute drive from our house). Walking into the train store, the pleasant smell of the smoke in the air from the steam locomotives running on the layout or the test track, and the friendly “Hello” that greeted us as we walked through the door. Seeing all the latest locomotives on display and boxes upon boxes of glorious new rolling stock from Lionel or MTH. We’d spend an hour or two looking at all the trains and chatting with the owner Don about all things model trains. We would always walk away with a purchase or two and start counting the hours til we would go back for another visit.
Since moving to Knoxville, Tennessee after college, trips to the train store are few and far between. I purchase most of my trains by mail order or trips to York. I love living in Tennessee, but miss the trips to the train store. There aren’t any close by. The closest is probably Legacy Station, which is near Atlanta, Georgia and about a 3 hour drive each way.
I purchase many of my trains from Mr. Muffin’s Trains in Atlanta, Indiana, and receive his weekly (or more often) newsletter. I love watching the videos he posts of YouTube most weeks of running the trains on his large layout for the public every Saturday. So, I decided to make a trip to Indiana (about a 6 hour drive each way) to visit Mr. Muffin’s and see the layout. I dragged (not much convincing was needed) my Dad and my brother along and we made and overnight trip of it, visiting the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum on Friday.
We joked about the town being a one stoplight town before heading there. Turns out it has no stoplights. Atlanta, Indiana is a quiet, peaceful farm town about a half-hour drive northeast of Indianapolis. Mr. Muffin’s has two locations on Main Street, one for the shop and one for the layout.
We visited the layout first, which was amazing. Walking in the door, we were greeted with a hearty “Hello” and welcome by Mrs. Muffin (Liz). The entrance room was filled with shelving showing off many pieces of rolling stock. An impressive collection. We lingered in that room for a bit looking at the various boxcars. Then we stepped through the opening between some shelves and into the wonderland that is Mr. Muffin’s beautiful layout. The layout is approximately 40’ x 60’ with a new area under construction that will add even more square footage. The layout is multi-layered with bridges passing overhead to connect different areas. The detail on the layout is impressive with figures and vehicles used to set scenes around various buildings, many from Woodland Scenics and MTH. Mr. Muffin was running a number of trains (I didn’t count, but I think it may have been around 10 maybe more).
We introduced ourselves to Mr. Muffin (Steve) and he was very gracious in discussing the trains and the layout with us. I had a number of questions about DCS and wiring and he took the time to answer them all.
We went over to the store and bought a few items. My Dad and I each bought an MTH Boston & Maine 44-Tonner and we bought a couple Woodland Scenics buildings. Then we went back to the layout and asked Steve some more questions. He showed us the DCS app and walked us through how he runs the trains with it. This was very beneficial as I have been trying to convince my Dad to give DCS a try. He could not have been more friendly and helpful.
Oh and Mrs. Muffin baked muffins that were available to visitors along with coffee. I didn’t try one, but my Dad had one of the Apple Spice ones and couldn’t stop raving about how delicious it was.
It was a great trip. An awesome opportunity to spend time with my Dad and brother and share our mutual love of model trains. I’d definitely recommend taking a trip to Mr. Muffins if you have the opportunity.
I took some photos. A few are posted below. Enjoy.
The Exterior of Mr. Muffin's Trains "The Layout".
A Coal Mining Scene on the layout.
A shot showing some of the bridges on the layout and the use of building flats against the wall.
Pennsylvania coal train passing by some buildings. Shelves in the background containing part of Mr. Muffin's impressive collection.
A town scene featuring a number of buildings from Woodland Scenics including the Theatre and Dugan's Paint Store.
Another shot of the town.
Ethyl's Gas Station (Woodland Scenics) with a car on the lift and a nice gazebo behind.
A small town station.
Beautiful station with many cabs waiting to pick up passengers.
Baseball Field with a game being played.
