Crosslake Train Club

The Northern Minnesota Railroad Heritage Association, known as the Crosslake Train Club, is a nonprofit heritage organization in Crosslake, Minnesota, and home to the Northern Trackers Model Railroad Club. Its mission is to promote railroad history and educate visitors through model railroad exhibits. After a fire destroyed nearly all of the club’s exhibits and inventory shortly after its 2018 move, community support and grants helped fund a new depot-style museum, built in 2019.

The museum features operating O, G, HO, and N scale train layouts, along with a children’s layout visitors can operate. Displays also include railroad memorabilia, photographs, and an operating telegraph system. Outside, a one-tenth-scale model of the William Crooks, the first steam engine to run in Minnesota, offers visitors a chance to climb aboard the engine and caboose and ring the bell.

Open to the public, the museum welcomes visitors on Saturdays year-round and on Wednesdays from June through August. Group tours are available by appointment. Donations support the exhibits and educational experience.