2025 Meets and Events
About Our Meets and Events
The San Diego Division holds monthly meetings and events every month, every second Saturday of the month and held at various times and locations. For your information, instead of naming our meetings, "Meetings", we call them "Meets".
- Our Meets and Events include private model railroad layout tours, quarterly Meets and other events. Our quarterly Meets (held February, May, August and November) can include Clinics, Show & Tell, Silent Auctions, Hobo Auctions, contests, swap meets, Bingo for Trains, raffles, door prizes and food.
- To learn more about the San Diego Division, please feel free to attend one of our Meets or Events as a guest by contacting Rudy Spano, Membership Services, at (858) 761-1424, or email Rudy at membership.
- Please provide Rudy with your first name, last name and your phone number to be a guest at one of our events. Or to join the San Diego Division, please call Rudy by phone or by email and he will assist you.
- You may also join the National Model Railroad Association on your own and the San Diego Division will be notified of your new membership status. The National Model Railroad Association has an introductory membership offer good for nine months, for $19.95 and it is called the Rail Pass.
- We welcome all National Model Railroad Association members from the Pacific Southwest Region or any other region in the world to attend any of our Meets or Events.
Meets and Events for 2025
Picture credit: Ron Walker.
July 12, 2025, Saturday - Model Railroad Layout Tour.
Layout Tour: We are very fortunate to have Ron Walker showcase his HO scale point-to-point Sonoma Valley and Napa Valley Railroad for the San Diego Division. His model railroad has been built specifically for Operation Sessions.
This will be one model railroad layout tour we recommend not to miss because Ron is in the middle of making his layout and we will see a model railroad that is in progress of being built. This layout tour will be an inspiration to all of us including those of us who are in the middle of making a model railroad layouts or to those of us who have not started one.
- Date: Saturday, July 12, 2025.
- Time: Noon–3 p.m.
- Location: San Diego County.
- Parking: There is on street parking and you'll enter the property through the driveway.
- Snacks: Ron will be providing drinks and snacks for everyone.
- Accessible: Unfortunately, the model railroad is not accessible.
- Masks: Not required.
- Carpooling: Carpool with a friend to take the sting out of gas prices.
- About Ron: Ron had a HO scale train set has a youth but never continued in the hobby as a young adult. He came back into the model railroad hobby sometime in the years of 1996-1997.
- Ron regained his interest in the hobby from joining the Poway Station model railroad club.
- He was introduced to many scales through his club, such as N scale, HO scale, O scale, G scale and 1-1/2 scale. (Note: 1-1/2 scale are the model trains that you ride on. For 1-1/2 scale, the distance between the rails is 7-1/2 inches).
- When he joined the Poway Station club, it was originally an all-scale club. Poway Station today is now only an HO scale club.
- Personally, Ron has always modeled HO scale trains for himself.
- When DCC was becoming more known to modelers and the manufacturers, his interest peaked again in the hobby due to his extensive work experience in electronics.
- Ron started his own model railroad benchwork around 2000 with five modules.
- He started to build the remainder of his layout in his garage in 2020.
- The benchwork and track work in his garage is now complete.
- He is still in the process of finishing his model railroad layout.
- Adding structures, scenery, roads, people, vehicles and other fine touches are a few of the other things he is planning to finish his model railroad layout.
- Ron is still part of the Poway Station railroad club.
Picture credit: Ron Walker.
About The Railroad:
- The fictitious railroad was originally built in the early 1900s and is still in use and has been servicing the Sonoma Valley and Napa Valley area for about 125 years.
- Ron's railroad supports the wine industry in Sonoma Valley and Napa Valley. Serving the area for about 125 years, the fictitious railroad built to serve the viticultural (the cultivation of grapes or the wine industry), agricultural, general business, tourism and the needs of the people in Sonoma and Napa counties.
- The founding members of the railroad foresaw great volumes of traffic congestion, shipping difficulties and inadequate roads for the wine and agriculture business and the people who lived in and visit the Valleys.
- The layout is a point to point railroad from Sonoma Valley Yard in the Northwest to Napa Valley Yard in the Southeast. In the Napa Yard, an interconnect track with Southern Pacific by Oakland connects the railroad to the rest of the world.
- Later a branch line will be built out of the Calistoga “Y” to connect with the town of Knights Valley.
- The names of the towns are real names of towns. While no railroad like this exists in the Sonoma or Napa valleys, the names of every town and location are real places in both those valleys today.
- The layout has two railroad yards, passing sidings, spurs, a turntable and more. Ron has a mix of steam and diesel-electric locomotives. He has hidden storage areas for trains.
- Typical trains have eight to 10 rail cars. Passenger trains have five to six rail cars.
- The equipment owned and used by the railroad is a mixture of motive power and rolling stock obtained wherever the railroad was able to find it while sticking to a tight budget. Some pieces are relatively new while other locomotives and rolling stock in use are over 100 years old.
- Today, with the growth in the wine, agricultural, industries, commuters and tourists, the railroad thrives and the future looks solid for the Sonoma Valley and Napa Valley Railroad.
A Model Railroad Built For Operations Sessions:
- For Operations Sessions, four (or sometimes more) trains are expected to run on the layout at a time. The Trains for Operation Sessions will be typically 6-12 cars. Longer trains can be run during non Operation Sessions.
- In the future, Ron plans to add a return loop at the end of the two side by side railroad yards. This would complete the track plan, making an exaggerated figure eight style loop for continuous running. The loop would not be used for Operation Sessions.
- Ron will use the JMRI (Java Model Railroad Interface) program to help him create Operations Sessions paperwork. He plans to use Switch Lists for his Operations Sessions system.
- An Operations Sessions might use between 2-5 people (possibly more).
- Operations Sessions typically last between 2-3 hours or more.
- Ron has paperwork printed for different sections of the layout, to help people complete their duties during each Operations Session.
- Please remember to ask Ron about how he will set up his Operations Sessions system.
- Operation Sessions Note: For those who don't know, Operation Sessions are when one or more model railroaders run their railroad like a real railroad. Instead of running trains in circles, Operations Sessions start out with making a train in a railroad yard, then travel to multiple railroad stations or industries and then dropping off rail cars or picking up rail cars or both - just like the real railroad.
- An Operation Session is similar to puzzle or game but the puzzle is on a model railroad layout. Participating in Operation Sessions will keep the interest in the hobby for your entire life.
- Every Operation Session by each model railroader is usually different from others and each pose different challenges. The webmaster has read about 18 different types of Operation Sessions systems and has participated in five different types of Operation Sessions. That is, participated in five different types of Operation Sessions where each have completely different paperwork to make the Operation Sessions work.
- Most model train clubs sponsor Operation Sessions for their members. Most clubs allow members to have guests at their Operation Sessions.
Picture credit: Ron Walker.
Electrical Information:
- Ron has an electronics background and worked in the industry for about 50 years. The electronics makes the hobby fun for Ron.
- He programs his own decoders and speed matches his locomotives. He uses DecoderPro to program his decoders. DecoderPro is part of the free JMRI (Java Model Railroad Interface) program.
- Ron uses DCC and Sound (DCC = Digital Command Control), and uses the NCE SB5, 5 amp booster. He uses a NCE SB5 booster command station that puts out 5 amps at 13.5 to 13.7 volts on the track.
- The layout has four power districts that divide the layout into four electrical blocks.
- He has a mixture of turnout controls from hand throws to tortoise turnout controls and some frogs are powered by frog juicers.
- He has a programming track built into his layout. The speed matching loop is wired and locomotives run through the programming track with no problem. The loop is ⅓ of a mile long.
- If you have any electrical questions, please remember to ask Ron for his advice.
Benchwork:
- A section of the layout is called Kenwood. This section is made from four modules built nearly 25 years ago.
- The rest of the benchwork was constructed starting in 2020 and is almost complete.
- The branch line to Knights Valley, across a lift up bridge at the door, is one of the last benchwork projects for the future.
Track Work:
- The track work is complete.
- Ron uses 83 code track. He uses mostly 24 inch minimum radius and his turnouts are all #5s or bigger.
- The layout has a turntable that serves both yards and includes a one and a third loop Helix to elevate the layout 6.375” to an upper level. A long down hill section of the track is called The Oakville Grade which brings the track down 4.375”. And a shorter grade changes the elevation another 2”.
- Typical grades on the layout are just under 3%. With curves on some of those grades, Ron considers another 1% or just under 4% maximum. This can result in longer trains needing consists of two or more locomotives or helpers.
- There are about 88 turnouts on the layout.
August 9, 2025, Saturday - Summer Meet.
Summer Meet: The San Diego Division is happy to present its Summer Meet this August with a swap meet, pot luck and a special scenery clinic. I hope all model railroaders in the Division will enjoy this special five-part clinic. Here are the details.
Picture credit: San Diego Division Webmaster.
- Date: Saturday, August 9, 2025.
- Time: 9 a.m.–3 p.m.
- Location: Hope Lutheran Church, 6749 Tait St, San Diego, California 92111. The church is located in Linda Vista. Linda Vista is located just north of the Fashion Valley Mall.
- Parking: There is free parking in the church's parking lot.
- Lunch: Pot luck.
- Activities: Swap Meet, San Diego Scenery Special clinic (There is only one clinic for this Meet and this is it.), door prizes and maybe more.
- Accessible: Yes, the facility is accessible.
- Masks: Not required.
- Carpooling: Carpool with a friend to help take the sting out of gas prices.
Event Schedule:
- Swap Meet: 9:00 a.m. to noon.
- Pot Luck: Noon to 1:00 p.m.
- Clinic: San Diego Scenery Special. 1:00–3:00 p.m.
Swap Meet: The Swap Meet starts at 9:00 a.m. and ends at noon.
- Buyers: Please remember to bring cash to purchase model train items and prototype items.
- Sellers: Here's a good opportunity to sell your model train items of any scale. Please bring your locomotives, rolling stock, scenery, tools and any other model train items you want to sell. Also, prototype items can be sold at the swap meet.
- Tables are free.
- The Division will NOT be taking a percentage of your sell price.
- The Swap Meet is completely free for the sellers.
Potluck Lunch: We asking for main dishes, side dishes and deserts. Noon to 1 p.m.
- Last names starting with N-Z are asked to bring a side dish or dessert.
- Last names starting with A-M are asked to bring a main dish.
- The Division will bring drinks, plates, utensils and napkins.
Clinic: San Diego Scenery Special: The San Diego Scenery Special clinic is free for all San Diego Division members.This clinic is from 1:00–3:00 p.m.
San Diego Scenery Special Clinic Notes:
- Each person will be making a small learning diorama.
- This clinic is free to all San Diego Division members.
- There will be five stations that each member will participate in.
- Each clinic station will last about a half hour.
- You do not need to bring anything. All materials will be provided by the Division.
- However, if you want to bring any of your own hobby tools, you may do so. We leave this is up to you but it is not necessary.
- People might find tools such as bringing your own rubber gloves, cutting tools [or hobby scissors], paint brush, hobby knife, cutting mat, 80 grit sandpaper or an emery board, canopy glue, a hot glue gun or any other hobby tool.
- We want to stress that bringing your own hobby tools is not required to participate in this clinic.
- At the end of the clinic, there will be a 1st Place prize for the best diorama.
San Diego Scenery Special Clinic Stations:
- Clinic Station 1: Streets. By Don Fowler.
- Clinic Station 2: Rocks. By Rodger Gredvig.
- Clinic Station 3: Trees. By Gary Robinson.
- Clinic Station 4: Ground Cover. By Trudy Seeley.
- Clinic Station 5: Water. By Kim Fowler.
September 2025 - PSR 2025 Convention - Pacific Southwest Express
Logo credit: Cajon Division.
PSR 2025 Convention: This is the Pacific Southwest Region (PSR) 2025 Convention, the Pacific Southwest Express. Details are listed on the convention's website listed just below.
- Date: September 3–6, 2025.
- Location: Ivine Hilton, 18800 MacArthur Blvd, Irvine, California, 92612. The Irvine Hilton is located next to the John Wayne Airport which is located in Santa Ana in Orange County, California, USA
- Website: www.pacificswexpress.org
- Accessible: Yes, the facility is accessible.
- Masks: Not required.
- Activities:
- Welcome Reception
- Pacific Southwest Region Board of Directors Reception
- Pacific Southwest Region Members Meeting
- Hobo Breakfast
- Celebration of Models
- Clinics
- General Interest Clinics
- Model railroad layout tours
- Operation Sessions
- Prototype tours
- General Interest Tours and Vacation Tips
- Model Railroad Swap Meet
- Silent Auction
- Hobo Auction
- Awards Banquet and Raffle Prizes
- Convention Tips
- Book your convention and hotel early
- Book the Hobo Breakfast early to save your seat
- Purchase your convention HO scale and N scale rail cars early, before they sell out
- Purchase your convention shirt and convention pin online before they sell out
- Book clinics, Operation Sessions and Prototype Tours early before they are booked
- Book the Awards Banquet early to save your seat
- Remember, for model railroaders, to start early on locomotive and rail car models, structures and displays for evaluations.
- Remember, for the non-rail convention goers, to start early on your Arts & Crafts items for evaluations.
September 6, 2024, Saturday -
Model Railroad Layout Tour.
Picture credit: San Diego Division Webmaster.
Layout Tour: Chuck Molnar will be providing a model railroad layout tour for the Pacific Southwest Region Model Train Convention "The Pacific Southwest Express" and for all San Diego Divisions not attending the convention.
Chuck models a HOn3 prototypical portion of the narrow-gauge line of the Rio Grande Southern Railroad, from from Ridgway to Rico.
At the time, the real railroad served the towns of Durango to Ridgway, in Colorado, USA.
If you missed seeing Chuck's model railroad layout in 2024, this would be an excellent opportunity to see his amazing model railroad.
- Date: Saturday, September 6, 2024.
- Time: 10:00 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- Location: San Diego County.
- Parking: There is on-street parking.
- Accessible: The model railroad layout is not accessible.
- Masks: Not required.
- Carpooling: Carpool with a friend to help take the sting out of gas prices.
- More about the model railroad layout.
- The Concept: Rio Grande Southern was in business from 1891 to 1952 and is known as as one of the most rugged and iconic narrow-gauge mountain railroads in Colorado, USA. The railroad spanned approximately 162 miles and went over four mountain passes on steep grades. Construction of the railroad started at both ends of the railroad, starting at Ridgway and Durango.The railroad began construction in 1890 and was completed in two years on December 12, 1891.
- Main Reference Books: The main reference books that Chuck uses for his railroad are 1) The R.G.S. Story: Rio Grande Southern - Vol. I-XII., Collman, Russ, and Dell A. McCoy, Sundance Publications and 2) The Silver San Juan, The Rio Grande Southern, Mallory Hope Ferrell, Pruett Publishing Co.
- Name Of The Railroad: The name of Chuck's railroad is the Rio Grande Southern.
- The Gauge: The railroad is a HOn3 narrow-gauge model railroad.
- The Making Of: The initial planning of Chuck's Rio Grande Southern began in 1997. Major benchwork was also started in 1997 and progressed over several years. The layout began in Carlsbad in a family home, in a three car garage. The layout was then cut into sections and put into storage for several months in 2005. Later, the layout was moved to a new location near the coast and then reassembled in a purpose-built free-standing building for his railroad and modeling. The total area of the building is 26' X 24' (feet) including the model train workshop. The size of the layout is 18' X 20', the aisles are 2' X 6' and the workshop is an area of 8' X 13'.
- Interestingly, very little damage was done to the layout during the move because the benchwork was strengthened before the move. In 2006, major work was restarted by putting the sections back together, making the layout slightly bigger than it was in Carlsbad and then improving the electrical work. The layout, in terms of all the track work and scenery, was finished in 2021. As of 2024, the model railroad layout is about 95% complete.
Rio Grande Southern #40 & 41 traveling over a trestle.
Picture credit: San Diego Division Webmaster.- The Era and Cities: The era of the layout is between 1890-1953. The part of the Rio Grande Southern he models is from Ridgway to Rico. The towns he models on his railroad include Ridgway, Placerville, Ophir and Rico. There are multiple types of structures and are based prototype pictures in the railroad history books. There are also mountain ranges, rivers, creeks, lakes, trestles, trees and other scenery on the model railroad. Name plates of locations and even elevation are located throughout the fascia of the benchwork.
- An Avid Modeler. Chuck started in the hobby when he was eight and has made about a half a dozen layouts in his lifetime. It is interesting to note that Chuck has built everything on his current model railroad layout, this includes but is not an inclusive list, the benchwork, electrical systems, scenery, buildings, trestles, track, switches, painting, weathering and the model train workbench. All the trestles on the railroad were designed by Chuck and were hand-built. All the buildings are made from kits, are kit-bashed, scratch built or made using board-by-board kits. Chuck is continually upgrading his railroad with new structures, track work and more.
- Track Work: Please note that all the track and switches are hand-laid using Fast Track jigs and tools for building switches. For the track work, Chuck used Micro Engineering rails and spikes. The ties were purchased from the Mt. Albert Scale Lumber Company located in Canada.
- Powering The Locomotives: The layout is designed for walk around control using DCC & Sound using NCE Pro Cabs. (Editor's note. All of Chuck's steam locomotives have sound and working LED lighting. Not only are the front lights working but back-up LED lights installed on the tenders are working, that is, if the prototype had a back-up light.)
- Operation Sessions: The railroad has been made for Operations Sessions. The exact details of his Operations Sessions are still in the planning for Chuck's model railroad layout.
- Webmaster Note 1: Ash Pit. Chuck recently added an ash pit under one section of the railroad tracks. Can you can find this new addition to his railroad? How many model railroaders that you know, have modeled an ash pit for steam locomotives? Have you ever seen a model railroad club that models an ash pit? This is something to think about, for those model railroaders who love the steam era of the railroad. This is a very nice prototypical detail and scene.
- Webmaster Note 2: This Is A Model Railroad Layout Tour You Don't Want To Miss. Chuck provided a previous layout tour for the San Diego Division in June 2022. Since then, he has made many upgrades to his model railroad layout, including adding new structures and adding new track. Please mark your calendars for Saturday, September 14, 2024. This will be an excellent opportunity for you to see his better than museum quality model railroad layout. This will also be an excellent time to ask Chuck any questions you have about his layout and about the hobby.
- The Concept: Rio Grande Southern was in business from 1891 to 1952 and is known as as one of the most rugged and iconic narrow-gauge mountain railroads in Colorado, USA. The railroad spanned approximately 162 miles and went over four mountain passes on steep grades. Construction of the railroad started at both ends of the railroad, starting at Ridgway and Durango.The railroad began construction in 1890 and was completed in two years on December 12, 1891.
- Carpooling: Help take the sting out of high gas prices and carpool with a friend.
October 11, 2025, Saturday - Model Railroad Layout Tour.
Layout Tour: This HO scale model railroad layout tour will be hosted by Gene Forbes. This will be the first time that Gene has provided a model railroad layout tour for the San Diego Division. We are looking forward to his model railroad layout tour.
- Date: Saturday, October 11, 2025.
- Time: Noon-3 p.m. (This time to be finalized at a later date.)
- Location: San Diego County.
- Parking: There is on street parking and you'll enter the property through the driveway.
- Accessible: To be determined.
- Masks: Not required.
- Carpooling: Carpool with a friend to take the sting out of gas prices.
November 8, 2025, Saturday - Fall Meet.
Fall Meet: Details of the Fall Meet will be determined at a later date.
- Date: Saturday, November 8, 2025.
- Time: To be determined.
- Location: San Diego Model Railroad Museum.
- Parking: There is free parking behind the museum.
- Lunch: Lunch will be provided or it will be a pot luck.
- Activities: Show & Tell, clinics, door prizes and more.
- Accessible: Yes, the facility is accessible.
- Masks: Not required.
- Carpooling: Carpool with a friend to take the sting out of gas prices.
December 13, 2025, Saturday - Model Railroad Layout Tour, Dinner and Holiday Party.
Model Railroad Layout Tour, Dinner and Holiday Party: Details of the Model Railroad Layout Tour, Dinner and the Holiday Party to be determined at a later date.
- Date: Saturday, December 13, 2025.
- Time: To be determined.
- Model Railroad Layout Tour: Wayne Pierce will be providing the model railroad layout tour of his On30 Minieton Railroad & Lumber Co. model railroad. If you haven't seen Wayne's model railroad layout, this will be an excellent opportunity to see Wayne's incredibly detailed model railroad layout.
- Holiday Party and Dinner location: Jimmy's Restaurant in Santee.
- Parking: There is free parking on street parking for the layout tour and free parking in the restaurant's parking lot.
- Accessible: No and yes. The model railroad layout is not accessible. I apologize in advance. Yes, the restaurant is accessible.
- Masks: Not required.
- Carpooling: Carpool with a friend to take the sting out of gas prices.
Past Meets and Events for 2025
January 11, 2025, Saturday - Model Railroad Layout Tour.
Picture credit: San Diego Division Webmaster.
Layout Tour: The new year will be kicked off with Dick Trotter's HO scale freelance Coyote Pass and Northern Railroad model railroad layout. This is a fantastic layout. If you've never seen Dick's model railroad layout or haven't seen it in a while, it will be worth every minute of time while visiting his model railroad.
- Date: Saturday, January 11, 2025.
- Time: Noon–3 p.m.
- Location: San Diego County.
- Parking: There is on street parking and you'll enter the property through the driveway.
- Accessible: Unfortunately, the model railroad layout is not accessible.
- Masks: Not required.
- Beginnings of the Layout: The museum quality HO scale freelance Coyote Pass and Northern Railroad was first started in 1972. The layout was designed for switching operations and has been upgraded and expanded since. The railroad has since been upgraded to use DCC and Sound to control the locomotives.
- Operation Sessions: The railroad continues weekly Operation Sessions today with some of his crew taking part in switching operations for over 20 years. Operations can take place with a minimum of two people and a maximum of eight people. The average number of people during Operation Sessions is six people. Operation Sessions typically take about two hours. The most important part of this model railroad is for the entire crew to have fun.
- Era and Location of towns: While the layout is freelance in design, the era includes steam engines and 1st & 2nd generation diesel-electric locomotives. The railroad features four train routes based loosely in the Southwest (in the USA) and has modeled towns such as Tucson (Arizona), Yuma (Arizona), and Santa Fe (New Mexico).
- Expansion of the layout: The layout was re-built once and expanded twice throughout the years, allowing years and years of model railroad operations for model railroaders in the San Diego area. The scale miles of the railroad have increased greatly over the years due to the two expansions. One of the layout expansions was to make the aisle ways wider, making it easy for people to pass each other during operations.
- Things to look for: The layout has multiple industries including factories located in a downtown city location, a coal loading industry spur, a cement factory, an oil industry spur, grain storage industries, a milling company, a pickle company, an ordinance factory (No smoking near the building, please!), an ice company and more. There are so many industries with industry spurs, that the switching combinations are probably close to infinity, providing a new experience to operators every time operation sessions occur.
- More things to look for: The railroad has multiple tunnels, multiple bridges, many kitbashed buildings and industries, kitbashed rail cars, kitbashed rail car loads and kitbashed locomotives. The layout itself has lots of detail including cars, people, signage, fences, trees, shrubbery, roads, railroad crossings and more. The railroad also has a large fleet of locomotives and rolling stock. In front of a doorway, there are two custom built bridges connecting track. When these bridges are put in the storage position, several switches automatically cut off the track power on both sides of each bridge, so that trains can't accidentally run off the track. The back drops use a combination of painting, photos, very thin 3D buildings and half buildings.
- Follow Up: 32 people attended. Here's a big thank you for Dick Trotter for hosting the January model railroad layout tour. Dick provided coffee, cookies and homemade banana bread. Thank you. The train room was always busy with people with Dick explaining to guests about his model railroad layout. One of his crew also ran a train during the layout tour. Many of us sat outside and caught up with each other discussing the model railroad layout, model railroading and other things. In addition, there were many people who had never seen Dick's train layout and there were also those who had been to his model railroad layout before.
February 8, 2025, Saturday - Winter Meet.
Picture credit: San Diego Division Webmaster.
Winter Meet: The Winter Meet is being held at the San Diego Electric Railway Association (or what I call the Trolley Museum) in National City and is shaping up nicely with all activities confirmed from having two interesting clinics, lunch, Show & Tell, a Silent Auction and more.
- Date: Saturday, February 8, 2025.
- Time: 9:00 a.m.–3 p.m.
- Location: San Diego Electric Railway Association, Inc. and the National City Depot Museum (also known as the Trolley Museum), 922 W. 23rd Street, National City, California 91950
- Parking: There is free parking.
- Lunch: Lunch will be provided or it will be a pot luck.
- Activities: Clinics, Show & Tell, lunch, Silent Auction and door prizes.
- Accessible: Yes, the facility is accessible.
- Masks: Not required.
- Clinic 1: How to Give a Clinic by Pete Steinmetz. Pete's clinic will go over the mechanics of how to organize, structure and make a clinic for new clinicians. The clinic will also be helpful for experienced clinicians, their input will be welcomed. The clinic will help make an average clinic turn into a really good clinic.
- Clinic 2. Stockton Sub by Gene Forbes. The HO scale model railroad layout is a prototype railroad modeling the Stockton Sub. The Stockton Sub is subdivision of the ATSF Railroad. The era of the model railroad layout is the 1950s through the 1990s. The railroad has been designed for Operation Sessions. The subdivision runs from Stockton, California west to Richmond with a connection to Point Richmond via a regional railroad. The entire layout is based in California. The railroad was built in 2014 in a dedicated 9 X 13 foot building in his backyard. The railroad has all its track laid and industries are still under development.
- Some of Gene's Hobby Background: Years ago, Gene got into the hobby in the 1980s due to his wife pushing him into the hobby because she said he needed one. In the early 2000s, Gene was was contemplating either building a garden railroad or an HO scale railroad. The inspiration for Gene to finally build an HO scale model railroad layout came from Gene attending 33 consecutive National Model Railroad Association national conventions and throughout the years having purchased lots of HO trains and structures.
- Lunch: To be determined
- Show & Tell: This is a time to bring a project or model and show off your model railroading work or discuss any topic about model railroading. You can also talk about something concerning any real railroad, either historical or present day information. Most people keep their presentation to about five minutes. We would like several people to participate in the Show & Tell portion of the Spring Meet. Please contact Ryan and let him know you'd like to participate in Show & Tell.
- Silent Auction: There will be a Silent Auction where every Division member can bring an unlimited number of items to sell. Note: The Division will be assessing a 10% fee off the grand total of what you make at the auction.
- Please remember that all items you have for the auction must be related to model railroading and/or the real railroad. You can bring things such as rolling stock kits, used rolling stock, new rolling stock, books, railroad memorabilia, posters, pins and anything else you would like to sell.
- Every item at the Silent Auction will have a bidding card. The person selling the item will list the starting price of the item. Then anyone can bid on that item by writing their name and bid amount. Whoever has the highest bid amount at the end of the auction, wins the item.
- Door Prizes: There will be door prizes.
- Model Railroad Layout Tour: There is an O scale model railroad layout self-guided tour at the museum.
- Follow-Up. The Meet was well attended with 23 people attending. The clinics and Show & Tell presentations were well received. The Silent Auction was also a hit. We had Jersey Mike's subway sandwiches, drinks, chips and cookies.
March 8, 2025, Saturday - Model Railroad Layout Tour.
Picture credit: San Diego Division Webmaster.
Layout Tour: Tim Foote will be presenting his HO scale freelance Desert Highlands Railroad. It is a freelanced model railroad layout based on California's High Desert rail line from Barstow, California to Kingman, Arizona during the transition period of the railroad of the 1950s. To be more specific, Tim's layout era is approximately in the 1950s and the 1960s.
- Date: Saturday, March 8, 2025.
- Time: Noon–3 p.m.
- Location: San Diego County.
- Lunch: Tim will be graciously providing hot dogs, chips, drinks and cookies.
- Parking: There is on street parking and you'll enter the property through the side of his house. Signs will be posted.
- Accessible: Unfortunately, the model railroad layout is not accessible.
- Masks: Not required.
- Inspiration, Era and Layout Information: The Desert Highlands Railroad was inspired by Tim's fondness of high desert railroading and rail fanning in Southern California and Arizona. The era of the layout is in the transition era and specifically, is loosely based during the 1950s and 1960s. The single level model railroad layout sits in a three car garage and takes up an area of approximately 14 X 22 feet. The layout includes track which has code 83 track for industry spurs and railroad yards and code 100 track for the main track.
- More About the Railroad: Even though it is a freelance railroad, the towns and location of cities are real such as the city of Barstow, the Ludlow Railroad Station, buildings in Needles, a Kingman water front, Mineral Park and the small town of Borate (the city is contemporarily named Boron). The layout has the Barstow railroad yard, many spurs, a staging railroad yard, several freight depots, a machinery industry, a Borax mill, several mines, a high voltage transformer substation, mountains in Arizona, a body of water with a tug boat and more.
- Electronics, DCC & Sound, NCE Power Cabs and More: To power the locomotives, Tim uses DCC & Sound (DCC = Digital Command Control) using NCE Power Cabs. There are three power districts, each power district having a circuit breaker and has one power booster for the entire layout. As an option, the railroad is also set up to use apps on your phone and wifi, to control the locomotives. Most of the signals are scratch built and are working signals which change based on the switch being in normal or reverse position. Future plans for Tim's railroad include lighting inside of the buildings, adding working street lights and more. He also has some future plans to set up sound devices such as animal sounds and factory sounds. Animation are also in future plans.
- Rolling Stock: Tim mostly uses GP7 and GP9 diesel-electric locomotives and some steam locomotives during Operation Sessions. He usually uses 4-axle diesel-electric locomotives due to the tight curves on the layout. His railroad cars include box cars, covered hoppers, tank cars, flat cars, gondolas, livestock cars, reefers, maintenance of way cars, cabooses and more. Tim's favorite locomotive is the ALCO PA which he typically only runs on club layouts and not on his own layout.
- Operations Sessions: While the railroad was not originally made for Operation Sessions, Tim had already built railroad yards, sidings and plenty of spurs, making it easy to make the railroad Operation Session ready. Tim uses JMRI (Java Model Railroad Interface) to plan operations and uses a manifest system to run Operation Sessions.
- Operation Session Lessons: Tim is offering anyone in the Division who visits his model railroad layout tour, to take part and learn about Operation Sessions. This is something to look forward to if you haven't participated in any Operation Sessions or are a veteran of and love Operation Sessions. Please email Tim to schedule your place during his layout tour.
- Current Status and Future Plans: The model railroad layout is over 65% completed with most of the structures placed on the layout. He continues to add new structures and new scenery to the layout when he can. The railroad still needs fine detailing, scenery and some landscaping, according to Tim.
Update: Wow... 39 people attended Tim's model railroad layout tour. This was a successful and fun model railroad layout tour and a good time was had by all. Operations Sessions took place throughout the entire day. Tim and his wife provided hot dogs, chips, drinks and cookies for lunch. Yours truly, the webmaster, grilled hot dogs for everyone during lunch.
April 12, 2025, Saturday - Model Railroad Layout Tour.
Picture credit: San Diego Division Webmaster.
Layout Tour: David Lancaster will be presenting his Z scale (1:220) modules, model trains, buildings and other Z scale electronics and equipment for the San Diego Division. This is the first time David has hosted a model railroad layout tour.
We are grateful for his generosity for hosting this event and are looking forward to what will be a fascinating model railroad layout tour. Please be sure to mark your calendars and bring lots of questions and your cameras for this event.
- Date: Saturday, April 12, 2025.
- Time: 1 p.m.-5 p.m.
- Location: San Diego County
- Parking: There is on street parking and you'll enter the property through the driveway.
- Accessible: Unfortunately, the model railroad layout is not accessible.
- Masks: Not required.
Some Model Train History: David started model railroading as a child. His father was a model railroader and gave both his children 4 X 8 plywood boards to make their own model railroad layouts.
- David started in O scale 3-rail model railroading as a child.
- Later on, he changed to N scale model railroading. His first N scale layout was on a 3-1/2 X 8 board that fit into the back of a truck. The legs of the layout folded up and doubled as a cover when transporting the layout.
- David finally change to Z scale module model railroading.
Learning About Z Scale: Z scale (1:220) is one of the smallest commercially available model railroad scales and has a track gauge of 6.5 millimeters / 0.256 inches. There are many interesting facets about Z scale model railroading and Z scale module model railroading that are not immediately apparent to the eye.
- 1:220 means that when you see a Z scale locomotive, the real locomotive is 220 times larger and vice versa.
- Both DC and DCC (Direct Current and Digital Command Control) locomotives can be purchased in Z scale.
- Z scale operates on 9-10 volts instead of 12 volts.
- Due to the light weight of locomotives, it is difficult for Z scale locomotives to pull a train up a grade.
- Most Z scale layouts have little to no grades.
- Modules allow model railroaders to gather at train shows and other events, and members are from the same city or different cities, and allows railroaders to make new layout configurations every time they meet.
Why Model Z Scale? The small size of Z scale makes it possible to fit more track into a small space. If you have limited room in an apartment, condo or house, Z scale can be a great choice to have a more scale miles of track in limited space. Also, Z scale is used for novelty model railroad layouts such as placing them in coffee tables, briefcases, suit cases, book shelf displays, guitar cases or jewellery boxes. Several transportation museums, have used Z scale to represent real world railroad scenes.
Some Z Scale History: Z scale was introduced by Märklin (a model toy company based in Germany) in 1972 at the Nuremberg Toy Fair in Nuremberg, Germany. Z scale is one of the smallest commercially available model railroad scales (1:220), with a track gauge of 6.5 millimeters / 0.256 inches. Z scale operates on 9-10 volts instead of 12 volts. Both DC and DCC (Direct Current and Digital Command Control) locomotives can be purchased in Z scale.
Picture credit: San Diego Division Webmaster.
- In 1978, a Märklin Z scale locomotive pulling six coaches made its entry into the Guinness Book of World Records by running nonstop for 1,219 hours and traveled a distance of 720 kilometers (450 miles) before the motor failed and the train stopped. Z scale was the smallest model railroad scale for decades.
- While there are now smaller scales than Z scale, the very smallest scales are niche markets with a small number of people modeling the smallest of small scales.
- Z scale is now a mature modelling scale with model locomotives, rolling stock, track, signalling, structures, scenery, vehicles, figures and more becoming available in increasing numbers from an expanding variety of established and particularly smaller, fast-growing manufacturers.
- During Covid-19 pandemic which began to have a strong-hold in early in 2020, Märklin sales (for all their scales) started to increase and had to hire more employees for the demand.
ZoCal: David is part of the ZoCal Southern California Z-Scale Model Railroading Group. He joined the group in 2007. ZoCal is comprised of a group of model railroaders located throughout San Diego County and the Greater Los Angeles area. ZoCal is not a model railroad club which means they don't have any regularly planned meetings. Members of ZoCal refer to themselves as a group. If you are interested in Z scale model railroading, ZoCal is actively looking for new members.
ZoCal And Train Shows: ZoCal displays their module model railroad layouts at multiple train shows throughout the year. If all goes as planned, ZoCal will be attending six train shows (from San Diego to Bakersfield, California) in 2025. The group welcomes guests of train shows to bring their locomotives, rail cars or both and run their trains on the group's modules. If a guest at a train show has only brought rail cars, the group will loan guests locomotives so they can pull their trains.
- The group currently has 41 modules and depending upon the train show, will make a model railroad layout with many of their Z scale modules.
- One of ZoCal's railroad yards has 28 tracks, over 120 switches, four double-crossovers and can hold 634 rail cars. The name of this railroad yard is Big Freight Yard or BFY.
- The group has at times connected so many modules together that it will take 17 minutes for trains to make a complete circle.
- It is interesting to note that all modules are made so they can be configured on either side of the module and track will still connect correctly.
- They also have black skirts for the modules to give the layout a finished look.
- Each time the group sets up their module layout, the configuration always changes.
More Z Scale Module Information: Z scale module model railroading has module standards so that model railroaders around the world can make their own modules. When members meet to created a model railroad layout, all the modules will fit together.
- Modules are main with two double main tracks. This way, you can have as many as four trains running continuously on the modules without hitting each other.
- Modules have a standard width by any length desired.
- Modules are 50 inches from the floor to the top of the rail.
- To connect the track between modules, the group uses expansion track. Expansion track is fascinating and be sure to discuss this with David.
- Some of the names of the modules are called simply modules, balloon end modules, T modules, L modules, S modules. Modules can also be named for what is on the module. For example, the oil refinery module, the lumber mill module or the steel mill module.
- Modules have the same electronics and electronic connectors allowing multiple modules to be correctly wired for the entire layout.
ZoCal and the San Diego Model Railroad Museum: ZoCal is also the group of model railroaders who are building a model railroad layout in the San Diego Model Railroad Museum. The decision to start the museum layout was in November 2023. The model railroad layout plans have been completed. All the benchwork has been completed and is made from steel. The benchwork is so strong, it will support an adult crawling on it. The track for layout was received in November 2024. The height of the layout is 36 inches. It will be the first Z scale model railroad layout to be on permanent display at the museum. This is an opportunity for model railroaders to join the ZoCal group to help finish the layout and operate trains on the Z scale model railroad layout.
ZoCal Operation Sessions at the San Diego Model Railroad Museum: ZoCal's permanent model railroad layout at the San Diego Model Railroad Museum has been designed similar to a real railroad with main track, railroad yards, sidings, spurs, towns and more. While Operation Sessions have not been created on paper, in the future, if ZoCal members want to develop an Operation Sessions plan, they can do so for the future enjoyment of the members. One oval section of the track is not what you'd find on a real railroad (or is not prototypical track work) and this is because this oval track will allow guests to push a button and make a train travel around that section of the track.
Follow-up. The Z scale module model railroad layout tour was a success with 26 people attending. There we some very awe inspiring modules such as the railroad yard modules, a briefcase model railroad layout and a cigar case model railroad layout. Everyone who attended learned about the fascinating module construction and Z scale model railroading.
May 10, 2025, Saturday - Spring Meet.
Picture credit: San Diego Division Webmaster.
Spring Meet: The Spring Meet will be held at the North County Model Railroad Society which is located in Oceanside, California (in San Diego North County).
- Date: Saturday, May 10, 2025.
- Time: 9:00 a.m. to 3 p.m.
- Location: North County Model Railroad Society is located inside the Heritage Park & Museum at 220 Peyri Drive, Oceanside, California 92058.
- Parking: There is free parking at front and in the rear of the park.
- Lunch: Lunch will be provided with a small donation.
- Activities: There will be Show & Tell, two clinics, door prizes and more.
- Accessible: Yes, the facility is accessible.
- Masks: Not required.
- Show & Tell. We are asking as many people as possible to present a five minute Show & Tell.
- Show & Tell is a time to bring a project or model and show your model railroading work or discuss any topic about model railroading.
- You can also talk about something concerning any real railroad, either historical or present day information.
- If you make a PowerPoint presentation, it will be easier to see for everyone.
- Please contact Ryan and let him know you'd like to participate in Show & Tell.
- Clinic 1: Open Car Loads by Bob Chaparro. Bob's clinic will look at various railroad car loads that modelers can duplicate with an emphasis on general service flat cars and gondolas in the steam and transition eras. Prototype practices will be explored through photos and diagrams. Examples of accurately modeled loads and common modeling errors will also be covered. If you missed Bob's clinic, you missed a very informative and well received clinic. The number of prototype
- Clinic 2: Weathering by Pete Steinmetz. The clinic will be outside due to better lighting. Pete will take up to 10 people to work hands-on and the rest of the Division can watch the entire clinic and weathering process.
- Each rail car needs to be provided by the participants, a box car red or brown rail car. Please remember, this is a learning experience and don't bring your best rail car. Bring a rail car that mistakes can be made and it won't be a problem.
- Pete will spray each rail car with a clear matte finish outside at the beginning of the clinic. Pete will be showing how to effectively and realistically weather a car using Pan Pastels. Pete will provide all the rest of the material for weathering. Pete brought a clear matte rattlecan spray bottle that he sprays the rail car before applying the Pan Pastels. Also, Tamiya Clear Flat spray works well; however, Tamiya is an expensive product.
- Door Prizes. There will be Door Prizes!!
- Follow-up. We had 32 people attend the Spring Meet and people had a great time! There was lunch and door prizes. We had two interesting clinics.
- Bob's Open Car Loads clinic was first and was a very interesting and informative clinic. Bob had many, many prototype pictures in his PowerPoint presentation showing real rail car loads from the steam and transition eras.
- We learned that correct tie downs are located in the Association of American Railroad (AAR) loading diagrams.These diagrams are available on the AAR website. An interesting note is that chains were typically not used to tie down loads since they are very expensive and the railroad can't get the chains back. With that said, there are still multiple types of very specific loads where chains are used.
- Steel strapping wasn't available until after World War II. Wire was a popular way to tie down loads. Concerning chocks, there are many ways that chocks are made to hold vehicles on flat cars.
- When modeling military flat cars, remember, the military will use false markings or cover the markings during war time for security purposes. The military did this during World War II and will still do this today.
- In the steam era, it seems that many manufacturers would put small, medium to large signage on their rail car loads. This would be free advertising for the company shipping this equipment, components or material.
- Some modeling that typically is modeled incorrectly are the tie downs, the chocking and material (and the amount of material) to keep the loads from shifting during rail travel.
- If you have an empty gondola, remember, there is usually the remains of lumber or other residue (or both) from previous loads inside the gondola. And the interior of the gondola needs to be weathered, rusted, dirty or all three.
- Bob's presentation gave us all the inspiration to be better modelers by looking at prototype photos, to hopefully make our modeling more realistic and true to the real railroad. Bob had multiple pictures of modeling that did not represent the prototype. Prototype photos are important if you really want to model real rail car loads.
- There were many comments and questions from the audience directed towards Bob during his presentation. His clinic was one that hopefully you did not miss. We hope Bob will present more informative clinics for the San Diego Division.
- We learned that correct tie downs are located in the Association of American Railroad (AAR) loading diagrams.These diagrams are available on the AAR website. An interesting note is that chains were typically not used to tie down loads since they are very expensive and the railroad can't get the chains back. With that said, there are still multiple types of very specific loads where chains are used.
- Pete's Weathering Clinic was very well received as well. Many people participated in his clinic and learned multiple techniques for realistic weathering.
- The Spring Meet was held inside a building for most of the event but Pete brought a table outside so everyone would have better light for weathering rail cars. It was a good lesson for all of us to learn to make sure we have good lighting when modeling.
- Pete first lightly sprayed our box cars with a clear matte finish from a rattle can. In addition, Pete brought applicators and lots of Pan Pastels for each individual to use during the clinic. He reminded us weather the sides, the ends, the top, the trucks and wheelsets of the model.
- Pete's generosity of providing supplies for this clinic is very much appreciated.
- We also hope that Pete will provide more clinics for San Diego Division members.
- For lunch, the pizza was really delicious.Thank you Ryan for ordering excellent pizza! The cookies were also good.
- Many door prizes were also given out.
- Bob's Open Car Loads clinic was first and was a very interesting and informative clinic. Bob had many, many prototype pictures in his PowerPoint presentation showing real rail car loads from the steam and transition eras.
June 14, 2025, Saturday - Model Railroad Layout Tour.
Picture credit: San Diego Division Webmaster.
Layout Tour: The model railroad layout tour will be hosted by Justin Rasas with multiple modules and scales. He uses the Foam Only Module Approach technique, also known as FOMA for his module layouts. This will be a very interesting model railroad layout tour as Justin is a talented and excellent model railroader. Please remember to bring cameras or have enough room on your phone to take lots of pictures! I am certain that Justin's modeling will be an inspiration to all those who attend this model railroad layout tour.
- Date: Saturday, June 14, 2025.
- Time: 1 p.m. - 3 p.m.
- Location: San Diego County. The address will be provided to San Diego Division members by email on the Thursday before the layout tour.
- Parking: There is on-street parking and you'll enter the property through the driveway.
- Accessible: The garage is accessible but the other floors of the house are not. Justin has a shelf-layout in his garage and will have one of his microlayouts in the middle of the garage as well.
- Masks: Not required.
- About Justin: Justin is an avid model railroader who has built multiple model railroad layouts in his lifetime, including N scale, HO scale, HOn3 scale and On30 scale layouts. Justin started in model railroading when he was around five to seven years of age. He was encouraged to enjoy the model railroad hobby by his father.
- He builds what he terms model railroad microlayouts which are also known as stand alone modules. He uses DCC and Sound and also deadrail for most of his trains. Deadrail is when the track is not powered and the locomotives are powered by batteries. The batteries can be located inside the locomotives, tenders or box cars. His HO scale microlayout has powered track.
- He uses a unique and light construction method using high-density foam for the benchwork base, hills and mountains. His microlayouts have been designed for portability. Please take the time to discuss this with Justin, I think you'll be fascinated by this lightweight and strong method for constructing model railroad layouts.
- Justin has stated he makes his model railroad layouts for the love of building the layout and modeling. All of his modules can be connected to each other, if desired.
- An interesting note, due to the Covid pandemic of 2020 and the forced and voluntary quarantines, the pandemic helped him get his many model railroad projects completed or almost completed.
- Be sure to ask Justin about how he weathers his locomotives and rail cars.
Owens Valley and the Southern Pacific in On30 (2014-2018)
- Some historical background: The Carson and Colorado built a 300 mile long narrow gauge line from Mound House, Nevada to Keeler, California in the late eighteen hundreds. The Southern Pacific Company purchased this 3 foot narrow gauge line around 1900 from the Virginia and Truckee Railroad (parent company of the Carson and Colorado). This narrow gauge line crossed into California and settled into the arid Owens Valley.
- A portion of the Southern Pacific narrow gauge line between Owenyo and Law is represented in On30 as a 55 foot long linear layout along the perimeter walls of a three-car garage.
- The California cities represented on the railroad include Owenyo, Sausailito, Zurich and Laws. The era for the railroad is in the 1930s.
- The railroad is a point-to-point layout.
- It is a dead rail layout (the track is not powered) and there are batteries in the tenders which eliminates the need for track cleaning and something called wiring!
- There is a lift-out across the exterior door and a lift gate across the house entry.
- This model railroad layout has been made for Operation Sessions. The Operation Sessions are conducted using TABS on top of each car indicating a destination to one of four towns on the layout. The tabs indicate where the cars need to be spotted. Operation Sessions typically use three crews with two people per crew. Operations usually last for about two hours.
- This layout at 98.3% complete. The benchwork is built out of high-density foam topped with homosote to secure the track and hold the sand.
Picture credit: San Diego Division Webmaster.
California Dreamin, an On30 Waterfront Adventure (June 2019 – Dec 2020)
- The inspiration: The fantastic Pacific Ocean smashing into vertical cliffs along the California rugged coast (Point Lobos in Monterey, California and Torrey Pines in San Diego, California) is modeled in On30 scale. The microlayout has a footprint of 74 inches by 39 inches or about 20 square feet.
- The base and mountains are built out of high-density foam.
- The lightweight layout sits atop a sit-stand desk allowing vertical adjustments to set the height of the layout either in a low, medium or high height.
- A depot, engine facility and a waterfront wharf supports the local economy with the very first gravity fed oil transloading facility that was very modern at one time, whenever that was.
- A vintage modern oil tanker (Exxon Valdez Jr) accepts the non-tariff crude before sailing off into the sunset.
- The colors of the layout and scenery are influence by Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve in San Diego in Southern California and near Monterey Point Lobos State Natural Reserve in Monterey, in Northern California.
Arizona Dreamin, an On30 Micro Mining Layout (May 2021 – Jan 2022)
- The inspiration: The Arizona arid and iron fortified mountains are represented using On30 scale for this microlayout.
- The track is in the shape of a figure eight and the layout is approximately 60 by 20 inches or about 10 square feet.
- The locomotive power includes critters (2 axle diesel Plymouths) or porters (0-4-0 steam) that shunt really short cars (2 axles or less).
- This dead rail layout includes an outdoor engine terminal and coke kilns that support mining operations somewhere.
- Motive power includes critters (2 axle diesel Plymouths) or porters (0-4-0 steam) that shunt really short cars (2 axles or less).
- The base of the layout is completely built out of high-density foam and homosote, this layout is light and airy.
Missing Valley Railroad, an HO and dual gauge HO-HOn3 Layout (Jan 2024 – Present)
- This beautiful and spectacular rocky mountain microlayout is a diversity layout that allows any road name and locomotive type covering critter switcher locomotives, Shay locomotives, F unit diesel-electric locomotives and AC4400 diesel-electric locomotives in standard and narrow-gauge. This model railroad layout provides train spotting from old to new but is missing something. See if you can find it.
- As this is a dual gauge track, both HO scale trains and HOn3 trains can travel on the same track.
- Built out of (once again) high-density foam, this 5 by 10-foot layout weighs in at 74 pounds.
- The layout is served by an adjacent staging yard (2 x 13 feet) that is not built out of foam but something called wood.
- This non-dead rail layout uses DCC and Sound and is built to sit back and watch the trains roll by.
- There is also a staging area with six tracks and can be connected to this module for more realistic operations.
Follow-Up
- Here is what I have say about Justin's layout tour: WOW!!! What a fantastic model railroad layout tour! There were a total of 21 people who attend the model railroad layout. If you made the layout tour, you had a great time and I'm glad you had this incredible model railroading experience. Maybe Justin will provide another model railroad layout tour in the future for those who missed the tour?
- Justin was a generous host providing drinks and snacks for everyone who attended. Everyone enjoyed his fascinating model railroad layouts. Each layout was extremely detailed and beautiful. Some of his neighbors also learned about the hobby and were fascinated with his layouts. Here is a big thank you to Justin and his hospitality.
Meets and Events for 2026
Note:
We have already begun scheduling model railroad layout tours for 2026. If you have a model railroad that you'd like to provide a tour for the San Diego Division in 2026, please let the webmaster know. We have the days of March 14, June 13, July 11 and October 10 in 2026 open for model railroad layout tours. Thank you.
January 11, 2026, Saturday -
Model Railroad Layout Tour.
Layout Tour: The January 2026 model railroad layout tour will be hosted by Rudy Spano. Rudy models HO scale model trains. The San Diego Division is looking forward to Rudy's realistic model railroad layout.
- Date: Saturday, January 11, 2026.
- Time: To be determined
- Location: San Diego County.
- Parking: To be determined
- Accessible: To be determined.
- Masks: Not required.
- Carpooling: Carpool with a friend to help take the sting out of gas prices.
February 14, 2026, Saturday -
Winter Meet.
Winter Meet: The event details are to be determined.
- Date: Saturday, February 14, 2026.
- Time: To be determined
- Location: San Diego County.
- Parking: To be determined
- Accessible: Yes, the facility is accessible.
- Masks: Not required.
- Carpooling: Carpool with a friend to help take the sting out of gas prices.
March 14, 2026, Saturday -
Model Railroad Layout Tour.
Layout Tour: The March 2026 model railroad layout tour will be hosted by Steve Bradley. Steve has a HO/HOn3 scale layout that is made for Operation Sessions. Details abound with Steve's model railroad layout. When touring Steve's layout, please be sure to try to find the smallest of details. Let Steve know the details you find and ask Steve if you have missed seeing any details on his railroad.
- Date: Saturday, March 14, 2026.
- Time: To be determined
- Location: San Diego County.
- Parking: To be determined
- Accessible: To be determined.
- Masks: Not required.
- Carpooling: Carpool with a friend to help take the sting out of gas prices.
April 11, 2026, Saturday -
Model Railroad Layout Tour.
Layout Tour: Joel Shank has two model railroad layout tours for April 2026 in the Brawely, California area. One railroad is the Rio Grande Southern Railroad narrow gauge Sn3 scale 32' X33' museum quality layout which is located in a 1,500 square foot air conditioned building. The other model railroad layout is a HO scale railroad and is located in an air conditioned intermodal container. This will be a very fun-filled and exciting model railroad hobby day. It will be worth it to plan now for this model railroad tour in advance, so you don't miss it.
- Date: Saturday, April 11, 2026.
- Time: 11 a.m. -3 p.m. (or later).
- Location: Imperial County.
- Lunch: 11:00 a.m. We will meet for lunch at the local Brownie's Diner in Brawley, California at 11:00 a.m. This will allow us to stretch our legs from the drive from San Diego to Brawley, eat a nice lunch, have a few laughs and then use the facilities before proceeding to the model railroad layout tours.
- Railfanning: There are also some good opportunities to railfan before and/or after the layout tours. There are several areas to railfan, including standard gauge and narrow gauge railroads that are located in the Brawley area.
- Parking: There is on street parking and you'll enter the property through the driveway.
- Accessible: To be determined.
- Masks: Not required.
- Carpooling: Carpool with a friend to help take the sting out of gas prices.
May 9, 2026, Saturday -
Spring Meet.
Spring Meet: The events for the Spring Meet are not determined yet.
- Date: Saturday, May 9, 2026.
- Time: To be determined
- Location: San Diego County.
- Parking: To be determined
- Accessible: Yes, the facility is accessible.
- Masks: Not required.
- Carpooling: Carpool with a friend to help take the sting out of gas prices.
June 13, 2026, Saturday -
Model Railroad Layout Tour.
Layout Tour: The June 2026 model railroad layout tour is open. Please contact the webmaster if you want to host a model railroad layout for June 2026.
- Date: Saturday, June 13, 2026.
- Time: To be determined
- Location: San Diego County.
- Parking: To be determined
- Accessible: To be determined.
- Masks: Not required.
- Carpooling: Carpool with a friend to help take the sting out of gas prices.
July 11, 2026, Saturday -
Model Railroad Layout Tour.
Layout Tour: The July 2026 model railroad layout tour is open. Please contact the webmaster if you want to host a model railroad layout for July 2026.
- Date: Saturday, July 11, 2026.
- Time: To be determined
- Location: San Diego County.
- Parking: To be determined
- Accessible: To be determined.
- Masks: Not required.
- Carpooling: Carpool with a friend to help take the sting out of gas prices.
August 8, 2026, Saturday -
Summer Meet.
Layout Tour: The Summer Meet events are to be determined.
- Date: Saturday, August, 2026.
- Time: To be determined
- Location: San Diego County.
- Parking: To be determined
- Accessible: To be determined.
- Masks: Not required.
- Carpooling: Carpool with a friend to help take the sting out of gas prices.
September, 2026, Saturday -
Pacific Southwest Region Model Train Convention.
Layout Tour: The September Pacific Southwest Relion Model Train Convention is currently being planned.
- Dates: September 2026.
- Time: To be determined
- Location: Double Tree by Hilton Hotel San Diego in the Hazard Center Mall located in Mission Valley.
- Parking: The hotel has paid parking and you can also park in the Hazard Center Mall parking lot at no charge.
- Accessible: The facility is accessible.
- Masks: Not required.
- Carpooling: Carpool with a friend to help take the sting out of gas prices.
October 10, 2026, Saturday -
Model Railroad Layout Tour.
Layout Tour: The October 2026 model railroad layout tour is open. Please contact the webmaster if you want to host a model railroad layout for October 2026.
- Date: Saturday, July 11, 2026.
- Time: To be determined
- Location: San Diego County.
- Parking: To be determined
- Accessible: To be determined.
- Masks: Not required.
- Carpooling: Carpool with a friend to help take the sting out of gas prices.
November 14, 2026, Saturday -
Fall Meet.
Layout Tour: The Fall Meet events have not been planned at this time. October 2026 model railroad layout tour is open. Please contact the webmaster if you want to host a model railroad layout for October 2026.
- Date: Saturday, November 14, 2026.
- Time: To be determined
- Location: San Diego Model Railroad Museum.
- Parking: To be determined
- Accessible: To be determined.
- Masks: Not required.
- Carpooling: Carpool with a friend to help take the sting out of gas prices.
December 12, 2026, Saturday -
Holiday Party.
Layout Tour: The December Holiday party has not been planned at this time. However, there will be a model railroad layout tour before the Holiday Party. We will be eating at Jimmy's Restaurant in Santee.
- Date: Saturday, December 12, 2026.
- Time: To be determined
- Model Railroad Layout Tour: Wayne Pierce's On30 Minieton Railroad & Lumber Co. model railroad.
- Holiday Party and Dinner location: Jimmy's Restaurant in Santee.
- Parking: To be determined
- Accessible: The model railroad is not accessible. Jimmy's Restaurant is accessible.
- Masks: Not required.
- Carpooling: Carpool with a friend to help take the sting out of gas prices.
Note: Pacific Daylight Time starts March 9, 2025 and Pacific Standard Time starts November 2, 2025. In the USA, in general, Daylight Time starts the second Sunday of March and Standard Time begins the first Sunday in November. In Europe, summer time begins the last Sunday of March and ends on the last Sunday in October.
We do not have a physical office, permanent meeting room or layout. Each month, we meet at various locations throughout San Diego County. With the exception of during a pandemic, we hold virtual meetings.
[Covid-19 and other pandemic Information: Our Division provided virtual Meets during the Covid pandemic of 2020 and during the first half of 2021. Our in-person Meets started back in August 2021. If another pandemic occurs, we will keep you informed on the status of all our meetings. In the meantime, masks are optional at all our in-person Meets and Events for this year, unless otherwise noted due or when required by state or federal law.]
- Last Updated: 05 July 2025 05 July 2025
Layout Tour:
February In-Person Winter Meet: The February In-Person Winter Meet will have a Silent Auction, Show & Tell and two clinics (workshops). The Division will also be providing snacks and drinks for everyone. The snacks will be in individually wrapped packets. (Unfortunately, we will not be having our usual potluck this month due to Covid.)
March In-Person Meet: The March In-Person Meet is Steve Bradley's 
Special Layout Tour Event: The members of the San Diego Division have a special invitation to visit Bob Treat's Snow Creek Railroad and Open House in late March. Bob Treat's website is 
In-Person Layout Tour: The April In-Person Meet is a layout tour will take place on Saturday, April 9, 2022, from noon-3:00 p.m. Please remember to wear a mask for this Meet. The location will be emailed to San Diego Division members several days before the event.
In-Person Spring Meet: The In-Person Spring Meet will be located at the Short Track Railroad Club and have lots of activities, including a Hobo Auction, Show & Tell, Lunch, a layout tour, Clinics and door prizes.
Layout Tour: The layout tour is Chuck's HOn3 narrow gauge model railroad and models the Rio Grande Southern Railroad (RGS) from Rico to Ridgway, Colorado (USA). The era of the layout is between the late 1930s to the early 1940s and is a prototypical model railroad layout.
In-Person Layout Tour: John Vavra will be hosting his HO and HOn3 narrow gauge model railroad for our layout tour. John models the 
In-Person Summer Meet: Last year's 2021 Summer Meet was the first in-person Meet during the Covid pandemic and was huge success with many members attending. This year's Summer Meet we will have a potluck lunch, a Silent Auction, Show & Tell, Clinics and door prizes. This will be a fun time to socialize and bid on various model train rolling stock, structures, books, memorabilia and more. Please mark your calendars!!
Back On Track In 2022 Model Train Convention: The San Diego Division of the National Model Railroad Association (NMRA) sponsored the PSR NMRA Convention Back On Track In 2022 model train convention. It was a resounding success.
In-Person Swap Meet: The 
In-Person Fall Meet: The Fall Meet will take place at the 
In-Person Meet: San Diego Division's Layout Tour, Holiday Party, dinner, Ugly Sweater Contest and Gift Exchange. The dinner will take place at Jimmy's Restaurant in Santee. 
