The Livingston Depot Center will hold its 29th annual Railroad Swap Meet on Saturday, April 27th in the Depot’s main room from 9am to 2pm. The Depot, once the historic Northern Pacific railroad station in Downtown Livingston, today is home to both community cultural events and a museum during the summer season.
The Swap Meet, open to the public, is a traditional get-together for railroad enthusiasts, exhibitors from all around the western region, and the generally curious. Vendors and swappers present railroad antiques, collectibles, books, photos, documents, artwork, model trains, tools, and almost anything with a railroad theme.
“It’s hard to imagine anything more fitting than a railroad-themed event like this inside a beautiful historic train station,” said Laura McCarthy Cota, the Depot’s executive director. “It’s fun not just to stroll around all the great memorabilia and model trains, but to see railroad buffs young and old just enjoying the chance to visit and trade stories too.”
Three operating model railroads will all be up and running for this special event: N gauge, HO, and O. The Livingston Model Railroaders will run their model trains in the Depot Baggage Room’s basement club space. Railfans also enjoy stopping at the fence to watch the trains passing regularly daily on the adjacent Montana Rail Link yard tracks only a few feet away.
The Livingston Model Railroaders have also revived an old favorite this year, an HO layout of Livingston’s rebuild shops, the majestic Depot, the roundhouse, and even the Teslow grain silo. Refinished for 2019 on the east mezzanine and accessible by stairs, the static layout will be open during the show as well as later when the museum reopens for the season starting May 11th.
Admission is a $1 donation to the Depot, and kids under 10 are free. Tables are still available to vendors and presenters; vendor setup will start at 7am. Anyone needing further information is encouraged to contact the Livingston Depot Center at (406) 222-2300.