New addition made to Miniature Railroad and Village
A new addition has been made to the Miniature Railroad and Village in the Kamin Science Center.
A replica of the Andrew Bayne Memorial Library in Bellevue is now part of the Miniature Railroad and Village’s layout, which celebrates the people, places, and history that define Western Pennsylvania.
The three-story, Victorian mansion-turned library has served as a cornerstone of the Bellevue community since 1927. Created by the Science Center’s model-making team, the replica features hand-painted architectural details of the library, including the decorative pediments above each window, along with a recreation of the Lone Sentinel, the historic elm tree that once stood on the library’s grounds.
The Miniature Railroad and Village traces its origins to 1919, when Charles Bowdish began building intricate railroad scenes in his Brookville home. In 1954, the exhibit moved to the Buhl Planetarium and Institute of Popular Science before expanding and reopening at the Science Center in 1992, where it remains a visitor favorite today.
The Andrew Bayne Memorial Library is the fourth building added to the exhibit through public vote. In a July 2025 poll, the library received an overwhelming 89% of the nearly 48,000 votes that were cast. The model’s interior is fully furnished with miniature bookshelves, historic marble fireplaces, and other intricate details inspired by the real building.
For information on the Miniature Railroad and Village and the Kamin Science Center, go online to kaminsciencecenter.org.