As the weather changes, the wind starts blowing, and the leaves falling, at Union Colony Insurance we are also departing from one season and arriving to the next. One of these seasonal changes is in the form of our Charity of the Quarter program!
For the past couple of quarters, we have proudly supported Helping Heroes Fly. Starting in October, we have come to a junction and thrown the switch to our new Charity of the Quarter, The Colorado Model Railroad Museum!
Arriving at the terminal of this new charity has brought a lot of education. Often, when we think of charities, or nonprofits, we think of services that help the less unfortunate in our community. But did you know nonprofits also include educational institutions?
For instance, did you know the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the largest art museum in North America, is also a nonprofit? Museums are a platform for educational experiences for the public but also rely on the public to continue down the tracks of education. This is the case for the Colorado Model Railroad Museum (CMRM).
The best way to describe and explain the museum is to let us put on our conductors hat and show it to you.
So grab your ticket, find the right platform, and jump on board for here is the Colorado Model Railroad Museum:
The mission of the museum “is to provide a model railroading experience that educates, inspires, and brings joy to all ages.”
The museum is located in downtown Greeley, across the street from the historical Union Pacific Railroad Depot.
The heart of the museum is the 5,500 sq. ft. fully operating model railroad display.
The display took over 5 ½ years to make and over 30,000 volunteer hours.
Over 28,000 trees are part of the display and were all made by hand!
The display represents the Oregon, California, and Eastern Railway Co. and over 1,350 feet of track is laid representing 20.5 miles of track to scale.
There are over 2,500 cars in the layout and takes a train over an hour to complete one circuit of the track.
The display has the trains run through the small Oregon towns of Klamath Falls and Coos Bay.
Kids can search for 5 dinosaurs hidden in the display.
There are also over 600 railroading artifacts on display representing the history of railroading in our country.
The jewel of the artifacts is the full-sized wooden caboose, which is reported to be the last operational wooden caboose on the Colorado & Southern Railroad.
The Colorado Model Railroad Museum is our next, Charity of the Quarter!
We are excited to partner with CMRM for the next few months. We will continually update you on their events and different aspects of the museum throughout the quarter.
Remember, as our Charity of the Quarter, we will donate $5 per referral we get to CMRM. Anyone can refer and the referred person does not have to purchase a policy! Check out the Charity of the Quarter program here.
Funds raised for the Charity of the Quarter will be used to help grow and expand their youth education programs!
Express your love of the Colorado Model Railroad Museum in the comments below!
*Sorry for the absurd amount of train puns. I went down that track and ended up full steam ahead and before I knew it, I couldn't come to a halt and put that caboose behind me... okay, I'll stop now...*