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One train in Gaithersburg is about to leave the station for good.

For 17 years, the five-car model has churned through a maze of tracks along the back wall of the city's community museum.

A vibrant main street with a glittering theater marquee cuts a straight line through a miniature town. Rice-sized children play in a schoolyard. An oil rig bobs up and down. Lights brighten and dim with simulated daylight.

But there's a catch. The model depicts a town in Southwestern Pennsylvania, not Gaithersburg, and the community museum opened in 1995 to highlight Gaithersburg's history as a rail, agricultural and scientific hub.

The 10-foot by 10-foot model takes up a third of the museum, which is housed in a restored 1884 B&O Railroad Station complex.

When the museum closes this winter for a complete overhaul, the train will be removed, allowing the curators to pull exhibits from hundreds of artifacts now in storage.

"The current model [train] is exceedingly large, taking up about a third of the floor space in the museum. It has no historic visual reference to Gaithersburg and it is aged and in need of weekly repair," said Denise Kayser, cultural arts director.

The train is owned by the Rockville Model Railroad Society, which must take it back after receiving 90 days notice from the museum.

Created in 1988 for a holiday showcase at National Geographic's Exhibitors Hall, the display has 600 wires that power such features as an audio recording of a coal mine that plays when visitors hit a red button and a crossing arm installed on the model two years ago to encourage pedestrian safety.

Fred Schirrmacker, a member of the Rockville Model Railroad Society and one of the model's original builders, comes to Gaithersburg weekly from his home in Silver Spring to repair and fine tune the display.

"At the Geographic, 100,000 people came to the exhibit. Since then, I would imagine thousands of others have seen it," Schirrmacker said. "It's very gratifying."

Trains will still be highlighted after the museum's renovation.

Kayser said the museum would like a new model train — one that depicts Gaithersburg's rail history — built specially for the museum's tight quarters.

The addition of new train cars outside — a caboose from the abandoned B&O rail that runs behind the museum and a self-propelled Budd Car that also passed through Gaithersburg — will triple the museum's exhibition space.

The caboose and a vintage locomotive are already on the tracks outside the museum. The Budd Car will arrive this winter from the Hagerstown Roundhouse Museum.

The train cars will be outfitted to house a small theater, library space and railroad history exhibits.

The new museum will include life-sized depictions of historic Gaithersburg scenes, including a general store, bank and school room.

The museum will close for renovations Dec. 27 and reopen March 29, 2011.

What: Gaithersburg Community Museum

Where: 9 S. Summit Ave., Gaithersburg

When: Thursday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Cost: Free

Inside: Current exhibits feature memorable Montgomery County farms, the city's milling history and Gaithersburg during the Civil War.

Outside: The outdoor history park includes a patio and several plaques explaining the history of Gaithersburg.

dgaines@gazette.net