Latest News & Features

Latest News & Features

• Depot Construction Project
  April 1, 2026

  Opened in 1892, Transformed and repurposed in the 1970’s as the Heritage and Arts Center, the St. Louis County Depot is going through its most extensive restoration in 134 years. The Northern Pacific Railroad built Duluth’s Union Depot to be a signature structure on the cities growing skyline. NP’s $650,000 investment would be worth over $30M Today. St. Louis County is ensuring another century of service by investing $19.5M to preserve this historic landmark we call The Depot. This monumental effort recognizes the building’s importance as the Heart and Soul of Arts, Culture and History in our region. It also ensures the safety and comfort of the people who call the depot home and the hundreds of thousands of visitors who value and enjoy dance, music, art, culture, and history found here. This project is a renaissance for a renaissance building. The work will bring every aspect of the building’s core systems to a modern standard that will last for decades. Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning, or “HVAC ” is the project. The new system will heat and cool the building with substantial efficiency. Make for better air quality, and it will also be much quieter. Electrical, Plumbing and new fire alarms are just a few of the improvements that will welcome generations of families to enjoy the Minnesota Ballet, Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra, Lyric Opera of the North and the incredible history preserved by the St. Louis County Historical Society and the Lake Superior Railroad Museum and North Shore Scenic Railroad. This project is also requiring a lot of relocating. Many items in the collection of the St. Louis County Historical Society have been moved to storage or other areas of the building, and our own archives/library in the railroad museum have also been moved to the 4th floor or secure storage. The entire NSSR lobby has been cleared out to accommodate roof work, and offices have also been relocated. For now, our guests will still enjoy mostly the same experience with very few changes to the exhibits. In the end, the average visitor will probably not immediately notice the work produced by this huge project. HVAC is something you usually notice when its not there (too hot, too cold, bad air, etc.), but it will ensure comfort, as well as better stability for the important historic artifacts in the building. But wait… There’s more! The main gallery of the Lake Superior Railroad Museum under the train shed is not majorly affected. Track 7 has been cleared for some construction work, and ducting/piping will be installed behind some of the Depot Square building facades. But here’s where it gets better. As part of this project, the museum’s footprint will expand by nearly THREE THOUSAND square feet! Shown below, this new area, directly adjacent to Track 7, roughly behind the wood “freight dock” exhibit, will be climate controlled, and become the long awaited home for the “Seacrest” model railroad of the Duluth, Winnipeg and Pacific Railroad (DWP). A long time rail enthusiast, publisher and philanthropist, The DWP was Jim Seacrest’s Favorite Railroad. His family donated this incredible working model to the museum in his honor after he passed. Recognizing the significance of this gift the Depot Foundation is fully funding its installation. This interactive and DCC controlled model train layout will be a perfect companion to the museums very popular HO layout in the gallery. Additional exhibits will tell the story of the DWP, and display different and historic examples of the long- running popularity of model railroading. There’s a lot of options for the new exhibit, and as every model railroader knows… no layout is ever done. Mr. Seacrest’s million dollar layout shows the DWP from Duluth to the Canadian Border in authentically historic detail. The “O” scale professionally constructed model depicts the railroad in 1955 as it transitioned from steam to diesel. There is certainly a lot of room for historical interpretation is in the model, telling the history of the area, the DWP, and trains in general. Many details on the model and related display are just starting to be discussed. If you have thoughts or ideas, please let us know! It is an exciting time, as the several phase construction project gets started. The whole thing is planned as a two year project which in the end will not change the appearance of The Depot, but enhance and preserve it for the future.  That will make the Seacrest Model Railroad Installation the exciting new feature and  Grand Finale of the two year project. -Article from the March edition of The Junction a quarterly news magazine made by the Lake Superior Railroad Museum & Lake Superior Transpiration Club