Trolleys in Roslindale Square, the West Roxbury and Roslindale Street Railway Company, Boston and Maine Railroad, and Southern Pacific Railroad are all relics of a bygone era.

But they are alive and thriving, at least in miniature, on the second floor of 760 South St. in Roslindale, where the Bay State Model Railroad Museum (BSRM) is located. The nonprofit model railroad club and museum hosted its annual March open house this past weekend. To minimize the long lines, BSRM sold tickets online for 30-minute timed entry slots, which sold out. This is also due to the limited capacity in the museum. The open houses, held in March, May, October, and November, regularly attract more than a thousand visitors each time.

Over 60 percent of Americans support the development of a national high-speed rail network in the United States. While the chances of that happening anytime soon are slim, you can still experience the dream at BSMRM.

Children and adults alike admired the N-, HO-, and O-scale trains and their intricate mid-twentieth-century scenery, including a Maine fishing town, five-cent cigar factory (a reference to a progressive governor from the 1900s https://tinyurl.com/39b22crm), a Hayes-Bickford Cafeteria, triple-decker houses, fall foliage, and much more. The most popular attraction is the O-scale layout, which features a 1950s Roslindale Square, along with the commuter rail, the Green Line, and the Orange Line. Visitors can also watch the Amtrak and Acela trains speed down the tracks. These train models are pre-made by model train companies such as Bachmann or KATO.

Robert Lee, the Director of Shows for BSMRM, discussed the small yet crucial new improvements to the model railroads. “We have a lot of new scenery, as well as wire replacements,” he explained. “For the N-scale layout, we [BSMRM members/volunteers] replaced all of the wire under the layout. Some of the lighting systems are also new.”

N, HO, and O are model train scales based on their ratio to (real) trains. O is the largest and very detailed, HO is the most common, and N is the smallest and best for compact layouts.

The museum has recently installed new control panels for the N layout, which provides a clearer map of the main lines. Each train is controlled by a BSMRM member. “For our N-scale layouts, we follow the train the whole time. With the HO and the O scales, members pass the trains off to each other like air traffic controllers,” Lee explained.

One of Lee’s favorite Easter eggs in the museum is a scene from Jaws in the harbor near the model coastal Maine town. “I love hearing people say, ‘Oh my god, that’s Jaws!’ I love leaving things for people to find. It gives visitors a reason to look at all the amazing details that members have put in,” Lee said. There is also a model Bluesmobile hidden in the mountains.

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Some people claim model railroading is a “dying hobby” because of its high cost and the limited space younger generations have in their apartments. But model train enthusiasts say that is not the case. Lee runs an N-scale model railway in his apartment.

“People come here and become interested in model railroads,” Lee remarked. “It’s not just running trains. We have people interested in making scenery. We have members who are electricians who want to practice their craft. We have something for everybody.”

The BSMRM has hundreds of General Members. Guests can visit during “Wednesday Train Nights,” which are held on the fourth Wednesday of most months. Due to high demand, guests must purchase a five dollar ticket, which is a “donation to the work of the museum to promote the hobby of model railroading in the Boston area.”

About 30-to-40 BSMRM members help operate the trains during the open houses. Open Houses are typically held the first Sunday of May and October, the weekend before Thanksgiving, and the first weekend of March. Tickets go on sale about a month in advance.

To learn more about BSMRM’s history, memberships, and open houses, visit bsmrm.org.