AUGUSTA — Trains will be up and running at the Maine State Museum on Friday and Saturday, Dec. 3-4, as part of its Model Railroad Celebration. Admission will be free both days.

The Great Falls Model Railroad Club of Auburn and Maine 3-Railers based in Augusta will share their collections and knowledge about model trains during the two-day event.

Members of each club will set up and operate a variety of displays, complete with G, HO, O, and N-gauge model trains, along with accessories and seasonal scenery. Members of each club will also be on hand both days to answer questions.

The trains will run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Friday and from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday.

Model trains and the holidays share a historic connection. The first regularly scheduled passenger train in the United States began on Christmas Day, 1830. Toy trains appeared soon after railroads came into regular use; and long before electricity was a mainstay in homes, children and adults constructed model motorized trains that ran on steam power.

The life-size 1846 “Lion” steam engine exhibited at the museum’s entrance is the eighth earliest American locomotive.