The World’s Greatest Hobby, Inc., a non-profit campaign that promotes the hobby of model railroading, has pledged $50,000 to help support the National Model Railroad Association’s planned “Magic Of Scale Model Railroading” exhibit at the California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento, CA. In addition, the campaign is challenging its friends and colleagues in the model railroad industry to match that amount.

The planned 3,500-square-foot exhibit, which has an estimated cost of $750,000, will portray the history of model railroading, from the earliest clockwork trains to today’s electronically-controlled locomotives, and will allow visitors to enjoy the sights and sounds of these trains on beautiful model train layouts.

“This commitment presents the industry with a unique opportunity,” according to Phil Walthers, of Wm. K. Walthers, Inc., one of five major sponsors of the campaign. “The World’s Greatest Hobby will match industry donations up to $50,000, making every dollar from the industry go farther.”

The WGH board, which also includes Tom Haedrich of Atlas Model Railroad Corp., Bud Reece of Bachmann Trains, Hiroshi Kato of Kato USA, and Terry Thompson of Kalmbach Publishing/Model Railroader magazine, is unanimous in its support of the project. “This exhibit will put model trains in front of hundreds of thousands of people per year,” Thompson notes. “It will be a great way to help build future generations of model railroaders.”

Since its inception in 2002, the campaign has garnered millions of media impressions for model railroading, and more than one million people have attended the-licensed “World’s Greatest Hobby on Tour” train shows. In addition, hundreds of thousands of people have seen layouts in events supported by WGH such as National Train Day, and the campaign has distributed many hundreds of thousands of booklets promoting the hobby of model railroading as well as distributing more than 200,000 DVDs and videos.

For more information contact Terry Thompson at tthompson@kalmbach.com, 262-796-8776.