Vote for the 2026 Miniature Railroad & Village® Model!
The Miniature Railroad & Village® features hundreds of wonderfully realistic animated scenes that capture what life was like in our region before 1940. The Miniature Railroad team chooses new models that best represent Western Pennsylvania’s history and give visitors the opportunity to connect with the exhibit on a personal level. Now the vote is in your hands for the Fall 2026 model! Vote by choosing your selection below. Please note: You’re only able to vote one time per day.
Model #1
Andrew Bayne Memorial Library
Bellevue, PA 1875–Present
- The Andrew Bayne Memorial Library has served the Bellevue community since its formal dedication in 1927.
- Amanda Bayne Balph and her husband, architect James Madison Balph, built the Victorian home, now the Andrew Bayne Memorial Library, in 1885.
- Amanda Bayne Balph was the daughter of Allegheny County Sheriff Andrew Bayne. Upon her death in 1912, she bequeathed her land and home to the borough of Bellevue, stipulating it be used for a park and library in honor of her father.
- Planning for the transformation began in 1914, and by 1927, the Andrew Bayne Memorial Library opened to the community. Nearly 1,000 people applied for library cards within the first day.
- In 1976, the library received historic landmark status, but it had started to deteriorate in the 1980s.
- Government funding enabled the library to undergo extensive renovations in 1992. These renovations reached completion in 1998, and the library received an award of merit from the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation.
Model #2
Bethel Township High School
Bethel Park, PA 1905–Present
- Built in 1905, Bethel Township High School offered students a state-of-the-art education and even included a science lab.
- In 1917, the modest school expanded and became Bethel Vocational School under the Smith-Hughes Act, teaching trades such as agriculture, wood shop, and home economics to both girls and boys.
- By 1934, the building became Bethel Grade School.
- After the school district outgrew the building, local theater and arts groups rented the space and rebranded it the Schoolhouse Arts Center in the 1990s.
- Bethel Park Historical Society took ownership of the building in 1996.
- Renovated in 2016, the first floor now features a small museum dedicated to Bethel Park history and a popular locally owned coffee shop. The historical society hosts a lecture series and various community events throughout the year.
- A refurbished trolley sits outside the building as a cheerful landmark for those who live in the South Hills.
Model #3
Garards Fort Post Office
Garards Fort, PA 1942–Present
- Garards Fort Post Office is the smallest stand-alone post office in Pennsylvania and originated inside a general store in 1828.
- In 1942, Garards Fort Post Office moved to its current location across from the Greene Township municipal building in Greene County.
- The post office is only 165 square feet (5 feet by 10 feet) and open for two hours a day, six days a week. The interior of the building has remained untouched for the past 83 years.
- The United States Postal Service was one of the first federal institutions. Even before the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1775, the Continental Congress created the Post Office of the United States, essentially the first function of the new government.
