Miniature Railroad & Village To Open At Carnegie Science Center

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- They've "been working on the railroad all the live-long day" and much of the night before at Carnegie Science Center.

Curator Patty Rogers directs the staff as they tidy up the "Miniature Railroad and Village" for another holiday season.

Tucked into the western Pennsylvania "hills" in the 30-by-83 foot display are landmarks ranging from Fallingwater to old Forbes Field.

Patty Rogers says some visitors return year after year.

"No matter how often they come, they find things that they didn't see before. Things they think we added new but that they're just discovering because there is a lot to see."

New this time around is a reconstruction of Manchester Farm in Avella. The real farmhouse was built in 1815.

"It's been a continuously active farm," Patty says, "and owned and lived in by the same family for the last 200 years. So it's an amazing piece of history right here in western Pennsylvania."

The farm is recognized by the non-profit Preservation Pennsylvania, a move that preservation groups hope will save it from local mining interests. For the time being, the house still stands, in a Washington County field, and a railroad display on the North Shore.

The Miniature Railroad and Museum opens to the public the day after Thanksgiving.