South Dakota State Railroad Museum kicks off annual Trees and Trains exhibit

HILL CITY, S.D. — Train enthusiasts are no strangers to the South Dakota State Railroad Museum in Hill City, but they may be glad to learn the popular holiday exhibit is back in business.

The museum, located directly next to the Hill City 1880 train depot, strives to preserve railroad history. The museum is currently hosting it’s 11th annual Trees and Trains exhibit. Locals, businesses, and museums donate decorated trees to be displayed alongside running train sets.

“It’s a really remarkable exhibit every year because we have the model trains running, as well as the trees, and other Christmas exhibits,” said museum Curator, Rick Mills. “And it’s a lot of fun to see families share in events like this where they can come through and they can just kind of enjoy and look at traditional Christmas, as well as model trains.”

It’s no surprise the museum would combine trees and trains, as they both have close ties to Christmas.

“Model trains are kind of a traditional thing at Christmas time,” said Mills. “A lot of folks put them around their trees; have them on display shelves and everything. It was just always kind of a fun traditional gift to get kids at Christmas time.”

The exhibit will be open every weekend through Christmas.