2023 Meets and Events

About Our Meets and Events

The San Diego Division holds monthly meetings and events (12 times per year), every second Saturday of the month, held at various times. 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 (Held February, May, August, November and can include Silent Auctions, Hobo Auctions, Clinics, Show & Tell, contests, swap meets, Bingo for Trains, raffles, door prizes and food) and other events.
• 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.

October 14, 2023, Saturday - North County Model Railroad Society and Swap Meet

Swap Meet: We will be participating in the North County Model Railroad Society's October Swap Meet and model railroad self-guided layout tour. Please mark your calendars!!

• Date: Saturday, October 14, 2023
• Time: 8 a.m.–noon.
• Location: The North County Model Railroad Society is located in Heritage Park at 220 Peyri Drive, Oceanside, California 92058. The model train layout is located in the Train Depot building in Heritage Park.
• Parking: Parking is free. There is parking in the front and in the rear of the park. To drive to the rear parking lot, there is a driveway next to the park buildings and all visitors can drive on that road slowly and park in the rear parking lot. You can view the park and its parking lots using Google Maps to see how easy it is to park there.
• Food and Drinks:
  • 8:00 a.m. Complimentary coffee.
  • 9:00 a.m.–noon. Soft drinks and food.
  • The North County Model Railroad Society will be selling soft drinks, hot dogs, chips and cookies (or donuts) starting around 9:00 a.m. at reasonable prices.
• Accessibility: Yes, the North County Model Railroad Society layout is accessible. The swap meet is located on the park's lawn.
• Masks: Masks are optional.
• Swap Meet: This is one of the largest model train Swap Meets in San Diego County.
  
  • The Swap Meet is free for all visitors.
  • Time and date: 8:00 a.m.–noon. Saturday, October 14, 2023. (Location above.)
    
  • The North County Model Railroad Society will have door prizes.
  • The Society will also be selling hot dogs, chips, cookies (or donuts) and drinks around 9:00 a.m. at very reasonable prices.
  • The San Diego Division will have a table at the Swap Meet as a recruiting table. If you would like to help staffing out swap meet table, please let us know on the day of the Meet. The model railroad layout is opened from 10:00 a.m.–3 p.m.
  • You may visit the the model railroad layout during the Swap Meet.
  • While some people are ready to leave the Swap Meet at noon, you are welcome to stay and talk with North County Model Railroad Society's model railroaders and visit the layout.
  • Sellers: Please RSVP here: swapinfo [AT] ncmrs [DOT] org. There is a $12.00 fee for sellers.
  • Sellers: Table set-up is at 7:00 a.m. It is best to bring your own tables to sell your items.
• Self-Guided Layout Tour: The HO scale "Inland and Southern Pacific Railroad" model railroad layout that is located inside the Train Depot building in Heritage Park.
  • The model railroad layout is opened from 10:00 a.m.–3 p.m.
  • The North County Model Railroad Society was founded in 1990 and has been in several different locations in North County. The club began construction of its current layout, in its latest home in Heritage Park, on June 18, 2014.
  • The club's railroad is a two-level layout modeling from San Diego to Oceanside, then through Temecula and ending in Colton, California. The layout includes railroad stations, railroad yards, a helix, industry spurs, many towns, multiple industries, multiple tunnels, bridges and more. The layout has nighttime capability including buildings with lighting, street lighting and has thunder and lightning effects. 
  • The club is open to the public, has Wednesday Work Nights and the layout has been designed with Operations Sessions in mind.
  • The club has regular Operations Sessions throughout the year.
  • The club invites model railroaders of all ages to join their HO scale model railroad club.
  • If you are looking to join a HO scale model railroad club, this is a good time to meet fellow model railroaders and find out more about their club and the membership fees.
• Please mark your calendars for this Meet, as this is the largest annual event that the San Diego Division schedules each year and this is one of the largest model train swap meets in San Diego County.
• Carpooling: Help take the sting out of high gas prices and carpool with a friend.

November 11, 2023, Saturday - Fall Meet

Fall Meet: The in-person Fall Meet will be held at the San Diego Model Railroad Museum located in Balboa Park. The Fall Meet will be held in the Pacific Beach event room, located in the rear of the museum. Please mark your calendars!!

• Date: Saturday, November 11, 2023
  
• Time: 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
  
• Location: In Balboa Park at the San Diego Model Railroad Museum, 1649 El Prado, San Diego, California 92101.
  
• Parking: We recommend to park in the parking lot behind the museum and you will enter through the museum's employee doors in the rear of the San Diego Model Railroad Museum.
  
• Accessibility: Yes, the San Diego Model Railroad Museum is accessible.
  
• Masks: Masks are not required.
• Clinic 1: To be announced.
• Clinic 2: To be announced.
• Lunch: The San Diego Division will be offering lunch to its members. Lunch is $10.00 and will include a sandwich, drink, chips and a cookie. Please RSVP to the webmaster for lunch.
• 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.
• Bingo For Trains: Bingo For Trains is always a fun time and there will be great prizes! Don't forget to bring cash so you can purchase one or more $5.00 bingo cards. For $5.00, you get 10 bingo sheets and each sheet has 6 bingo cards per game sheet. You can buy more than one packet of bingo sheets.
• Door Prizes: There will be Door Prizes.
• Club Layout Tours: There will be guided layout tours of the San Diego Model Railroad Association's O scale 2-rail layout. The La Mesa Model Railroad Club will also be hosting a tour of the club's HO scale two-story mountain model railroad layout.
  
• Carpooling: Take the sting out of gas prices and carpool with a friend.

December 9, 2023, Saturday - Holiday Party at Jimmy's Restaurant in Santee.

Holiday Part: In-Person Meet: San Diego Division's Layout Tour, Holiday Party and dinner, Ugly Sweater Contest, Reindeer Games and Gift Exchange. The dinner will take place at Jimmy's Restaurant in Santee. Please mark your calendars!!!

And don't forget, you have the option to  purchase or make an ugly holiday sweater for the Ugly Sweater Contest!!!

• Date: Saturday, December 9, 2023
  
• Layout Tour Time: 2:00 p.m. to 5 p.m. at Don Fowler's.
• Layout Tour Location: The location of Don's N scale layout will be provided in our email for San Diego Division members.
• Dinner Time: 5:00–9:00 p.m.
  
• Dinner Location: Jimmy's Restaurant, 9635 Mission Gorge Road, Santee, California 92071
  
• Accessibility: The restaurant is accessible.
  
• Masks: Masks are not required.
• About Don's Layout: Don models Southern Pacific’s Mojave Division (in N scale) in a 20’ x 22’ air conditioned room with a double-decker layout and has segments between Southern Pacific's Intermodal Container Transfer Facility in Los Angeles (California, USA) to Bakersfield (California, USA) from 1975 – 1995. The model railroad was made for Operation Sessions. The layout was started in 2015.
  • The layout includes the Tehachapi Loop and Southern Pacific's West Colton’s Classification Yard, complete with a diesel service facility, and an arrival and departure yard.
  • The model train layout has 388 feet of mainline track (just over 30 scale miles), has four railroad yards, two bridges, nine tunnels, twelve rail served industries, has several residential areas and working modern windmills. The layout includes working signals and crossing gates, over 100 turnouts and the Tehachapi Loop. There is also night time capability with lighted buildings and other lighted structures which provides a very nice ambiance during Operation Sessions and/or when visitors are enjoying the layout.
  • DCC & Sound with a Digitrax DCC wireless system is used to operate the locomotives. There is also a custom-made N scale work bench and plenty of storage space in the model train room. The layout was also designed so no one has to duck under the layout during an Operations Session.
• Holiday Party Games at the Jimmy's Restaurant: There will be an Ugly Christmas Sweater Contest, Reindeer Games and a gift exchange.
  • Ugly Sweater Contest: Please wear your ugliest Christmas sweater – there will be a prize for the ugliest sweater!
  • Reindeer Games: A fun trivia game that everyone participates in. The trivia questions will be about the December holidays, model railroading and the prototype railroad.
  • Gift Exchange:
    • Model Railroaders: Please bring a wrapped, non-scale specific railroad item ($20 limit) for gift exchange.
    • Partners: Please bring a wrapped non-rail gift ($20 limit) for gift exchange. If you are both model railroaders, then both may bring a wrapped, non-scale specific railroad item.
      
• Carpooling: Help take the sting out of high gas prices and carpool with a friend.

2024 Meets/Events

January 13, 2024, Saturday - Model railroad layout tour.

Layout Tour: The new year will be kicked off with model railroad tour. The tour will be announced and added to the website as soon as plans are finalized.

• Date: Saturday, January 13, 2024
  
• Time: To be determined.
• Accessible: Unfortunately, the model railroad layout is not accessible.
• Masks: Not required.
• Carpooling: Help take the sting out of high gas prices and carpool with a friend.

February 10, 2024, Saturday - Winter Meet

Winter Meet: The Winter Meet for 2024 will have a potluck, swap meet, two clinics and door prizes.

• Date: Saturday, February 10, 2024
  
• Time: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
  
• Location: To be announced.
  
• Accessible: Yes, the building is accessible. 
• Masks: Optional.
  
• Potluck Lunch: We asking for main dishes, side dishes and deserts.
  
  • Last names starting with A-M are asked to bring a side dish or dessert.
  • Last names starting with N-Z are asked to bring a main dish.
  • The Division will bring drinks, plates, utensils and napkins.
• Swap Meet: The Swap Meet starts at 11:00 a.m. and ends in the afternoon.
  • 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 and the Division will NOT be taking a percentage of your sell price. The Swap Meet is completely free for the sellers.
• 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.
• Clinic 1: To be determined.
  
• Clinic 2: To be determined.
• Carpooling: Help take the sting out of high gas prices and carpool with a friend and remember to park in the church parking lot.

Past 2023 Meets/Events

January 14, 2023, Saturday, 11:00 a.m. to 3 p.m. (PST) - San Diego S-Gaugers layout tour

Layout Tour: The new year will be kicked off with the San Diego S-Gaugers layout tour. The San Diego S-Gaugers model train club is celebrating their 15th anniversary in January 2023 and has invited the San Diego Division to be part of their celebration.

• Date: Saturday, January 14, 2023
  
• Time: 11:00 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• Location: Grossmont Center Mall, Suite 304, 5500 Grossmont Center Drive, La Mesa, California.
• Masks: Optional.
• Accessible: Yes, the club's layout is accessible.
  
• About the San Diego S-Gaugers model train club. The S scale (1:64 scale) San Diego S-Gaugers is a 501(C)(3) nonprofit model train club that welcomes new members of all ages and skill levels. If you want to get started in model trains, this is a good club to join.
  
  • The club has a space that is 41 feet X 22 feet. The main model train layout has 24 modules, each module built by club members.
  • The club also welcomes the public to bring in their trains in storage, to see if they still run.
  • The club has a several test tracks for HO, S scale, Sn3 and O scale trains, to test your model train locomotives.
  • Members own a variety of trains from vintage toy trains to those who use the latest technology in trains.
  • The club also sells trains and accessories that are donated to the club and 100% of the selling prices goes directly back to the club to support the S scale club.
  • The club is a National Model Railroad Association (NMRA) 100% club. This means that all its members are National Model Railroad Association members.
  • Here is a big congratulations that the San Diego S-Gaugers is a NMRA 100% Club.
  • When the club is closed, the trains still run. Just push the button outside the window and the trains on all three window layouts will run for about a minute.
  • As of 2020, the club has been busy upgrading existing layout features.
    • Some of the additions include adding a sky board and building flats to the left side of the layout.
    • A Ghostbusters scene was added, Plasticville buildings added, new business section added, barber shop added, auto dealer added, the lake has upgraded and the mountain has been upgraded.
    • The Westside Lumber Sn3 layout has been upgraded and partially operational.
    • The museum walls have been decorated with new items and a painting by one of the members.
    • A farmers co-op display has been added, a Jurassic Park scene has been added, the interior of the train station has been upgraded, a super hero area has been added, a snack bar has been added and a Crispy Creme trailer has been added.
• About Grossmont Center (mall).
  • The Grossmont Center opened in 1961.
  • The mall occupies 100 acres of land.
  • It cost over $20 million USD to build the mall.
  • At the time, Grossmont Center was the largest development project in the City of La Mesa.
  • As of December 2022, the mall has a total of 97 places of business.
  • The largest stores in the mall are Macy's, Reading Cinemas, RH Outlet, Target and Walmart.
  • The mall is also home to Bath & Body Works, Cost Plus World Market, CVS Pharmacy and Dollar Tree.
  • The mall has 13 sit-down restaurants, has nine fast food restaurants in their food court, has 11 spa and beauty stores, and there is much more.
• Shopping: Attending the layout tour is a great way to make your time count as you can also do shopping, watch a movie and/or eat out for lunch at the mall.
• Carpooling: Help take the sting out of high gas prices and carpool with a friend.
• Follow-up: We had a total of 24 members attend this Meet.
  • Here's a big thank you to the San Diego S-Gaugers for inviting the San Diego Division for it's 15th Anniversary Celebration.
  • Even though the day was cloudy in the morning, then in the afternoon, the weather turned to heavy rain, everyone enjoyed the layouts and speaking with the members of the club about their layout, trains and modeling.
  • Division members and friends took advantage of shopping at the mall and some ate at the restaurants.

February 11, 2023, Saturday - Winter Meet

Winter Meet: The Winter Meet for 2023 will have a potluck, swap meet, a Golden Spike Award Ceremony, two clinics and door prizes. The Meet will be held in Linda Vista.

• Date: Saturday, February 11, 2023.
  
• Time: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
  
• Location: Peace Lutheran Church. 
  • Peace Lutheran Church, 6749 Tait Street, San Diego, California 92111.
• Parking: Please park in the church parking lot and not on the street. There is lots of parking in the church parking lot.
  
• Masks: Optional.
• Accessible: Yes, the building is accessible. 
  
• Potluck Lunch: We asking for main dishes, side dishes and deserts.
  
  • Last names starting with A-M are asked to bring a side dish or dessert.
  • Last names starting with N-Z are asked to bring a main dish.
  • The Division will bring drinks, plates, utensils and napkins.
• Swap Meet: The Swap Meet starts at 11:00 a.m. and ends in the afternoon.
  • 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 and the Division will NOT be taking a percentage of your sell price. The Swap Meet is completely free for the sellers.
    
• Golden Spike Awards: There will be a Golden Spike Award Ceremony.
• Clinic 1: Rebuilding A Locomotive by Tim Foote. Tim's clinic will cover diesel restoring topics including: Amp draw testing the existing motor; Engine run test; Cleaning and lubing wheels and gears; Gear replacement; Motor replacement; Installing a Digital Command Control (DCC) decoder; Discuss decoder types; The ins and outs of using capacitors; Placement of a decoder and a speaker; and last but not least, installing LED locomotive lights.
• Clinic 2: Working with Foil by John Johnson, Master Model Railroader. This is a National Model Railroad Association's video clinic presented a few years ago at the Philadelphia national convention. In it, he demonstrates how heavy aluminum foil can be used to create various parts for structures and freight cars. It includes techniques for handling, bending, cutting and embossing the foil. Foil seems like it would be somewhat fragile and tricky to work with but in the clinic, we see it can actually be quite a robust modeling material.
  
• Door Prizes: There will be door prizes.
• Carpooling: Help take the sting out of high gas prices and carpool with a friend and remember to park in the church parking lot.
• Update: We had 25 members attend the Winter Meet. The potluck was a huge success, we had lots of food, drinks and desserts. The clinics were very informative for the members. Even though the swap meet had only several sellers, the amount of items was huge and the prices low, low, low!! Two members, Steve Harris and John Vavra received the Golden Spike Awards! Congratulations to both Steve and John.
  

March 11, 2023, Saturday, 9:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. (PDT) - Chula Vista Live Steamers.

Layout Tour: The Chula Vista Live Steamers.

• Date: March 11, 2023
  
• Times: Steam-up starts at 9:00 a.m. Rides are from noon to 2:30 p.m.
• Location: 4548 Sweetwater Road, Bonita, California
  
• Parking: Please park in Gate B parking lot.
• Accessible: Yes, the facility is accessible.
• Masks: Optional
  
• When To Arrive:
  • The Chula Vista Live Steamers has invited San Diego Division members to arrive as early as 9:00 a.m. to see the "steam-up" of the locomotives and to watch the club's members prepare the trains for the train rides.
  • Division members are more than welcome to ask any question to the club members.
  • If you prefer to arrive for train rides only, the train rides start at noon and go until 2:30 p.m.
• More Information and Regulations About The Chula Vista Live Steamers:
  • All train rides are free for this event.
  • The club is open on the second Saturday and Sunday of each month from 12:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. and the club offers free rides to the public.
  • The club has 8,000 feet of track.
  • When riding on the train, think safety first.
  • Please remember to obey the stationmaster and train crew.
  • Board and exit the train at stations only.
  • Sit as directed and keep your hands and feet inside the rail car.
  • Children are not allowed to be held in arms of anyone while riding.
  • Do not use electric equipment while riding the train.
  • Food and drinks are not allowed on the train.
  • Riding the train is at your own risk.
  • Donations are welcome.
  • Remember to bring your cameras for pictures and video.
• Carpooling: Help take the sting out of high gas prices and carpool with a friend.
• Follow-up: There were 17 members of the San Diego Division who attended the layout tour even though the weather was cold, cloudy and drizzling throughout the morning. The club was not offering train rides for the public due to the weather but the club members gave Division members several rides on their trains.
  • The club was incorporated in February 1974.
  • The scale of the club is 1-1/2 inch scale and this scale is also nick-named live steam.
  • The club has multiple types of steam locomotives and diesel-electric locomotives and the trains typically have a six car maximum on their trains.
  • The club's members have locomotives that weigh from 500 lb to one ton.
  • Most of the club's rolling stock are made by the club's members.
  • The club owns a small sit-down hand car which is fun for kids as well as adults.
  • The track that was installed in 1985 with wooden ties is now being replaced by plastic ties. There are several main tracks, crossovers, a railroad yard and service bay.
  • The club is open to new members. If you are interested in this scale, please contact the club and meet the members.
  • There at least 35 known live steam railroads in California as of March 2023.

April 8, 2023 - Saturday, 12:30 p.m. (PDT). Joel Shank's Sn3 Rio Grande Southern Railroad narrow gauge model train layout tour in Brawley, California.

Layout Tour: The layout tour is Joel Shank's Rio Grande Southern Railroad narrow gauge Sn3 scale 32' X33' layout which is located in a 1,500 square foot air conditioned building. The layout was started in 1990 and the layout is finished. This might be the last opportunity to see Joel's museum quality model train layout as it will be moved sometime in the future. (This has changed. The layout is not being moved at this time.) This layout tour is for NMRA members and their guests.

• Date: Saturday, April 8, 2023
  
• Layout Location: Joel Shank lives in Brawley, California which is east of San Diego. It is a two hour drive, one-way, from San Diego to Brawley. Joel's address will be provided to San Diego Division members through email, two days prior to the layout tour.
• Getting There: Everyone has the option to:
  1. Drive to Brawley by yourself arriving in Brawley at 11:00 a.m. OR
     
  2. Drive to Brawley with your own pre-planned carpool with your friends arriving in Brawley at 11:00 a.m. OR
  3. Drive to Brawley by first meeting at a San Diego staging area Saturday morning at 8:30 a.m. and arriving in Brawley at 11:00 a.m. The staging location will be announced in our email two days prior to the layout tour.
     • We will then make all the carpool arrangements that morning at the staging area and then proceed to Brawley.
     • Reminder: For those who will meet in the staging area for the carpool and if you a rider in the carpool, please remember to bring some extra cash to help pay for the cost of gasoline for the drivers.
• Lunch Reservations/RSVP: For everyone going to the layout tour, please meet at 11:00 a.m. at Brownies Diner in Brawley for lunch. Please let us know how many people will be there for lunch to layouts [AT] sandiegodivision [DOT] org so we can tell the restaurant how many people to expect.
• Lunch At 11:00 a.m.: Lunch is at Brownies Diner and it is located at 990 Main Street, Brawley, California 92227. The cross street is S. Cezar Chevaz Street.
  
  • Joel will give a talk at the restaurant during lunch about his railroad and have a Q&A period.
  • After we eat, we will then drive over to Joel's Sn3 model train layout for the layout tour.
    
• Layout Tour Time: 12:30 p.m. (Give or take a 10 or 15 minutes either way). We will be leaving Brawley at approximately 3:00 p.m. and arriving back into San Diego around 5:00 p.m.
  
• Accessible: The model train layout is not accessible.
• Masks: Masks are optional.
• More about Joel's model railroad: Rio Grande Southern Railroad narrow gauge modeling between Rico and Ridgway, Colorado, USA. The prototypical railroad's era is September 1939, give or take a few months depending upon the Operations Session. In 1952, the railroad went out of business. The narrow gauge railroad primarily served the mining industry, mining gold and silver. Mines are not modeled. The industries on the railroad include a Pro Patria Mill (in Rico, Colorado), stock bins, coal facilities and oil distributors. Ninety percent of the buildings are scratch built and the area modeled in Colorado is a very rugged area of terrain.
  • The size of the layout is 32' X 33' located inside a 1,500 square foot in an air conditioned building. The railroad was started in 1990 and the layout is finished.
  • The scenes on the railroad have actually been recreated from pictures of the area.
    The stations on the railroad are Placerville, Vance Junction, Ophier and Coke Ovens (in Colorado, USA). Rico has a railroad yard and Ridgway railroad yard and a staging yard.
  • Bud Smith and Joel are the two who built the railroad. Bud Smith is the artist talent and Joel is the engineer and technical director. The layout has slightly over 3,000 trees and Bud built about 90% of the trees. The entire layout has hand-laid track. The lowest elevation modeled on the railroad is over 5,000 feet and the highest elevation just under 10,000 feet.
  • The railroad was designed for Operations Sessions and typically uses four people during an Operations Session. The layout is a point to point railroad. Operations Sessions occur four times a year and only Sn3 modelers attend. About four people are needed for Operations Sessions. One crew starts at one end, the other crew starts at the other end and meets at Vance Junction.
  • To control the locomotives Joel uses NCE with DCC & Sound equipped locomotives. The locomotives are P-B-L sound equipped with TCS Wow Sound decoders. The model train building has the layout room, a crew lounge, a work shop, a small kitchen and a bathroom.
• Update: 11 people attended Joel's model train layout tour. For those who could not make it, it was well worth the trip. If Joel ever offers another model train layout tour for the San Diego Division, I would recommend to make this a high priority for you and your friends.
  • Starting out, the freeway traffic was not heavy and it was an easy drive to get to Imperial County. In fact, the drive is slightly under two hours, I believe.
    
  • The weather was sunny and warm in El Centro and Brawley, the temperature averaging in the mid-80s.
  • We ate at Brownies Diner and the diner has a wide variety of food. The waitstaff were very nice and accommodating.
  • When we arrived at Sn3 narrow gauge layout, the model train layout is in its own purpose built free standing building with air conditioning. When you enter the building, there is a lobby that includes Joel's model work shop, the crew lounge, a kitchen and a bathroom.
    
  • When entering the layout room, Joel's Sn3 narrow gauge model train layout is more beautiful than you could ever expect. The model train layout and scenery, the backdrop paintings, the fascia, the skirting (wooden panels, I believe), the ceiling accoutrements, the lighting — everything in the building has been impeccably made, fashioned and installed. In addition, the colors used for the wood skirting and ceiling colors where chosen to keep your focus on the model train layout.
  • The steam locomotives and rail cars have lots of detail and are weathered to perfection.
  • The backdrop is one of the most beautiful hand-painted backdrops that you'll probably ever see. The artist is Charles Thomas Smith.
  • The layout has over 3,000 pine trees, beautifully detailed structures, multiple scenes, has stunning riverbeds and extremely realistic forest grounds (the ground covering under the trees which included fallen trees, twigs, rocks, grass and things like this).
  • The track work has been all hand-laid and is stunning.
  • After the Sn3 layout tour, we drove to another location in Brawley and visited Joel's new HO scale model train layout that is still under construction.
  • The HO scale layout is a two level layout in an air conditioned 53' intermodal container. The inside of the container has been custom built has carpeting, stud walls, a ceiling and has insulation. The inside has been remodeled and looks like a room in a building. After you step inside the intermodal container, you forget that you are in a container because the inside looks just like a room inside a building.
  • The layout era is 1995 around the Southern Pacific and Union Pacific transition. The layout is a freelance railroad loosely based from Jacumba Hot Springs (California, USA) to Tecate (Baja California, Mexico), with a branch line to Ensenada (Baja California, Mexico). 
  • We saw some Union Pacific GP-38s and another railroad locomotive being used to pull intermodal well cars and freight trains.
  • The layout has been made for Operations Sessions.
  • There are many structures on the layout which have been made and placed on the layout. I believe more structures will be added to the layout. The scenery on the layout has only begun and so it will be really fun to see the progress of his new HO scale layout.
  • Remember, if you ever are in the El Centro area, there is lots of rail fanning, including Plaster City's narrow gauge commercial railroad. In fact, some of the Division members also did rail fanning that day in the area.

May 13, 2023, Saturday - Spring Meet - Short Track Railroad Club (Vista, California)

Extra! Extra! Here is an ADDITIONAL activity THAT IS BEFORE the Spring Meet.

• Swap Meet Information: The North County Model Railroad Society is hosting a Model Train Swap Meet. There is no entrance fee, drinks will be for sale and there will be door prizes. After the swap meet, it's a quick drive over to Vista for the San Diego Division's Spring Meet.
• Swap Meet Date: Saturday, May 13, 2023
• Swap Meet Time: 8:00 a.m. - noon
• Swap Meet Location: North County Model Railroad Society, Oceanside Heritage Park, 220 Peyri Drive, Oceanside, California, 92058
  

SPRING MEET INFORMATION:
The Short Track Railroad club (N scale) is hosting the San Diego Division's Spring Meet.

• Spring Meet Date: Saturday, May 13, 2023
  
• Spring Meet Time: 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
• Spring Meet Location: The Short Track Railroad model railroad club is located at 2040 N. Santa Fe Avenue, Vista, California 92083 (Located in North County of San Diego). The Short Track Railroad Club is located inside the grounds of the Antique Gas And Steam Engine Museum.
  
• Masks: Masks are optional.
• Accessibility: Yes, the club's building is wheelchair accessible.
• Silent Auction - 11:00 to 3:00 p.m.: 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.
• Lunch - Noon to 1:00 p.m: There is a $5.00 donation for pizza and beverages.
• Show & Tell: Bring a project or model and show off your work. 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.
  
• Clinics - 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
  • Clinic 1 (Time 1-2 p.m.): The Latest from PIKO by Jonathan Meador. Jonathan is the manager of PIKO America, the North American division of PIKO which is headquartered in Germany. PIKO is one of the largest model train manufacturers in the world with over 700 employees in multiple countries.
    • Jonathan will talk about working for a model train manufacturer, provide some history of the company and review recent and upcoming HO- and N-scale American products, including the SP Krauss-Maffei ML4000 diesel hydraulic locomotives of the 1960s.
  • Clinic 2 (Time 2-3 p.m.): The SONGS Reactor Vessel 1 Move on Metrolink on May 24, 2020 by Tim Harris. Tim works for the North County Transit District. He is a Senior Rail Engineer overseeing track construction and maintenance projects there. He was previously at Metrolink as a Senior Track Engineer where he was when this project took place.
    • Tim will talk briefly about the recent interesting operation, the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) vessel move that happened during May of 2020. The San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station was shut down in June 2013.
    • Tim will present information about the move of the reactor from the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station in San Onofre State Beach (North San Diego County, California) to Placentia, California, where the load was moved on BNSF rails. Tim will show a couple of videos showing certain parts of the operation. This can be an idea and will provide the information needed for an interesting model train project.
      
• Door prizes. There will be door prizes!!
  
• Short Track Railroad Club's Self-Guided Layout Tour: You are welcome to have a self-guided layout tour of the club's is the N scale model train layout. The club opens from 9:00 a.m. Feel free to talk to the Short Track Railroad's club members with any questions you may have. Some history of the club is listed below.
  
  • In 1991, the N scale Short Track Railroad (originally called the Short Trak'N Railroad Club) was formed and operations began in 1992. The club originally started as a module club, for over a decade, and exhibited their module railroad to local schools, retirement homes, National Model Railroad Conventions (regional and national conventions), other train conventions, the Del Mar Fair (in San Diego) and more.
  • When N scale model railroaders create and use modules, the hobby term is called NTrak. The NTrak Wikipedia page is filled with information about N scale modular systems. There is also a non-profit organization called NRail, Inc. which created the first national modular standards for N scale NTrak module modelers. The club has recently discontinued using modules and all their modules are gone.
  • In 2002, the club joined the Antique Gas & Steam Engine Museum in Vista, California. In 2003, the club started construction of their permanent exhibit in their 3,600 square foot club house. The club has a wonderful Donner Pass Exhibit, offers clinics to model railroaders, has Operations Sessions for its members and more. For several years, more new work has been done on their permanent exhibit, so this layout tour will be one tour not to miss.
    
  • The Short Track Railroad layout exhibit is open to the public every Saturday from 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
• About the Antique Gas and Steam Engine Museum: The Short Track Railroad club is located in the rear of the grounds of the Antique Gas and Steam Engine Museum.
  
  • The Antique Gas & Steam Engine Museum is a living-history museum founded in 1969 and is located on 55 acres of county-owned land on the outskirts of Vista, California.
  • Parking is free. You may park at the front of the museum grounds but you will have a long walk to the Short Track Railroad's building. Or you can drive slowly into the museum grounds and find the model railroad club's free standing building which is near the rear of the museum grounds. Please drive slowly when driving inside the museum grounds.

June 7-10, 2023, Wednesday-Saturday - Grand Canyon Special 2023 Convention

(PSR Convention 2023)

Welcome to the exciting Grand Canyon Special 2023 Convention. The Arizona Division of the National Model Railroad Association is hosting the Pacific Southwest Region NMRA Grand Canyon Special 2023 Model Train Convention.

• Date: Wednesday-Saturday, June 7-10, 2023
• Location: Flagstaff, Arizona, USA
  
• For more information for the convention, please see: The Grand Canyon Special website.
• Convention Registration: Register for the convention here.
• Convention Center: High-Country Convention Center
• Convention Hotel: Drury Inn & Suites Flagstaff
• Hotel Reservations: Make your hotel reservations here.
• For Hotel Discount: When booking your hotel room, please remember to add the convention's group rate code which is 3764683. On the hotel reservations web page, choose:
  > Add Special Rate or Code
  > Group Code
  > 3764683 (add this code)
• About the Convention:
  • The convention theme is Steam to the Grand Canyon.
  • The festivities will start with a complimentary evening buffet with three free drink coupons (for those staying at the hotel) and a Welcome Reception that includes an ice cream social. In fact, the complimentary evening buffet with three free drink coupons is available to hotel guests on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday nights.
  • The convention will have model railroading clinics (workshops), layout tours, Achievement Program judging, a Hobo Day, a tour of the Grand Canyon Railway engine facility and a Grand Canyon Railway train ride, other activities and more.
  • The convention is being held at the High-Country Convention Center. The format is new, unique and exciting, and features two days of indoor convention activities with the third day devoted to the steam train and the Grand Canyon.
    
  • The convention hotel is the Drury Inn & Suites Flagstaff and is connected via a sky bridge to the conference center.
• About Flagstaff: Nestled in the pines of the Arizona High Country, the City of Flagstaff offers cool summer temperatures and a rich diversity of downtown attractions and activities along historic Route 66. Flagstaff has over 100 trains passing through each day and therefore you will have plenty of opportunity to rail fan in Flagstaff.

July 8, 2023, 2023, Saturday - Steve Harris' HOn3 model railroad layout tour

Layout Tour: Steve Harris will be providing a tour for his HOn3 narrow gauge Rocky Mountain Rio Grande Southern Railroad model railroad layout.

• Date: Saturday, July 8, 2023
  
• Time: Noon - 3:00 p.m.
  
• Location: Valley Center (San Diego North County. Valley Center is northeast of Escondido), California, USA. The address will be emailed to San Diego Division members several days before the layout tour.
  
• Masks: Masks are preferred but are optional.
• Accessible: Unfortunately, the model train layout is not accessible.
• About Steve And About His Model Train Layout: Steve got started in the model railroad hobby in his thirties when his son was given a Lionel train from his son's grandparents.
  • Steve's first layout was N scale but later on, he converted over to modeling HOn3 scale.
  • HOn3 narrow gauge scale is broken down like this:
    • HO=1:87 scale. All the scenery, vehicles and buildings are HO scale.
    • n=narrow gauge. The track is for a narrow gauge locomotives and rail cars.
    • 3=3 feet between the rails in real life.
  • When you model in HOn3 narrow gauge scale, you are modeling a 3 foot wide narrow gauge railroad in HO scale.
  • His prototype railroad is the three foot narrow-gauge Rio Grande Southern Railroad in the era of 1939.
  • The Rio Grande Southern Railroad ran from Durango to Ridgway, Colorado (USA) hauling ore, timber, oil and general merchandise.
  • There are three railroad yards and no staging yards on the layout.
  • Steve started building his HOn3 layout over twenty years ago. His model railroad is inside a free standing 32’ office trailer.
    
  • When building his layout, Steve built the benchwork for the entire layout first. After this, he built his railroad by building one section at a time to completion, including track work, scenery and buildings before progressing with the rest of the layout. The layout is now 98% complete.  
  • It is a bi-level layout with an elevator that connects both levels.
  • All track and all switches are hand-laid and most of the structures are scratch built.  
  • He uses Digital Command Control with sound (or DCC and Sound) to control his locomotives.
  • Steve's layout is built for Operations Sessions.
  • Steve has written over thirty articles for Model Railroader magazine and for the Narrow Gauge and Short Line Gazette magazine.    
    
• Follow Up: There was a total of 13 guests who attended the layout tour. While the drive was long for most people who attended, it was worth the drive to see Steve's incredible model railroad layout. In addition, the scenery during the drive and views of the hills and valleys were well worth the trip.

August 12, 2023, 2023, Saturday - Summer Meet

Summer Meet: Mark your calendars! The Summer Meet is gearing up for food, drinks, activities, clinics, camaraderie and fun!

• Date: Saturday, August 12, 2023
  
• Time: 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
  
• Location: Peace Lutheran Church. 
  • Peace Lutheran Church, 6749 Tait Street, San Diego, California 92111.
• Parking: Please park in the church parking lot and not on the street. There is lots of parking in the church parking lot.
  
• Accessible: Yes. The building is accessible.
• Masks: Masks are optional.
• Swap Meet: The Swap Meet time is 9:00 a.m.–noon.
  
  • Buyers: Please remember to bring cash to purchase model train items and prototype items. There is no entrance fee for the Swap Meet.
  • 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.
  • Seller Note: Tables are free and the Division will NOT be taking a percentage of your sell price. The Swap Meet is completely free for the sellers.
• Potluck Lunch: Noon - 1 p.m.
  • We asking that every member bring main dishes, side dishes and deserts.
    
  • Last names starting with A-M are asked to bring a main dish.
  • Last names starting with N-Z are asked to bring a side dish or a dessert.
  • The Division will bring drinks, ice, plates, utensils and napkins.
    
• 1:00 p.m. Clinic 1: Using the Raspberry Pi Pico, A New Alternative To The Arduino Nano or LEDs and LDRs and NeoPixels, Oh My! by Paul Wilfong. In this clinic, Paul will discuss working with the Raspberry Pi Pico lighting microprocessor, including techniques to interface to a NeoPixel strip, to an LDR (Light Dependent Resistor, aka photocell) and to LEDs (light emitting diode). Paul will have a scale hotel structure at the meeting for inspection. Blinky lights!
  
  • There will also be some discussion of how the hotel model was built to accommodate the lighting, of the software development for the lighting control program and some valuable on-line resources.
  • The Raspberry Pi Pico microprocessor was recently made available from the Raspberry Pi Foundation and is an alternative to the Arduino Nano.
  • The reason why Paul is providing this very interesting clinic is that he has been working on a model of an old San Diego hotel for the San Diego Model Railroad Association club's San Diego & Arizona Eastern Railway model railroad layout. The club is located inside the San Diego Model Railroad Museum in Balboa Park.
    
  • The club is interested in implementing a manually controlled nighttime lighting effects sometime in the future. The idea is to use the layout room light level to trigger the hotel lighting for the nighttime cycle. This keeps the hotel autonomous. It does not need to network to a centralized lighting or computer control to properly accomplish the night lighting effects.
  • To accommodate this possibility of nighttime lighting, the hotel has had lighting installed that uses a Raspberry Pi Pico microprocessor for control.
  • Quick note: The San Diego Model Railroad Association club is one out of four clubs located inside the San Diego Model Railroad Museum. Currently, there are six model railroad layouts at the club. The San Diego Model Railroad Association has an HO scale layout and an O scale layout. The museum is in charge of the Garden Railroad layout. A seventh Z scale model railroad layout is currently under construction at the museum. Due to some legal juggling, the Z scale club will be part of the San Diego Model Railroad Association club.
• 2:00 p.m. Clinic 2: Got Rust? A Hands on Clinic for Rust Applications by Wayne Pierce. Our model railroading work is at the forefront of the modeling world and by using our skills as modelers we reproduce the real world, creating miniature works of art.
  • To represent rust in miniature, this hands-on clinic will instruct you on a method of creating a depth of rust to surfaces using chalk powder, stain and alcohol.
  • Procedures to show chipped and peeling paint with rust will also be demonstrated.
  • This processes can be used for rust on sheet metal roofing, tops of "metal" drums, pipes, vehicles, etc., anywhere that metal surfaces have exposure to the elements which cause rust. These techniques may be used for other scales as well.
    
  • Wayne will be bringing a number of painted, unlettered boxcar bodies that we can use for practice, along with the other materials that are used for the process. Attendees will have the opportunity to apply layered chalk to painted surfaces of an HO boxcar shell.
  • There should be plenty of shells for practice. Attendees can also form teams to share a car if they’d like.
  • Wayne will be presenting some slides and also will have a camera setup so we can watch up close as he demonstrates his techniques.
• Door Prizes: There will be door prizes.
• Carpooling: Help take the sting out of high gas prices and carpool with a friend to our Summer Meet!
• Follow Up: This was a very successful meet and every one enjoyed themselves. We had 21 people attend and had a swap meet with lots items for sale and many bargains were found. Paul's clinic was a very informative and detailed PowerPoint presentation on Raspberry Pi by Pico. Paul also brought a lighted house, lighted LED strip and various electronic items to help us understand his electronic's presentation. Wayne's rust clinic was a hands on clinic. Wayne provided everyone with three colors of chalk, three paint brushes, a box car shell, 91% alcohol, black paint mixture, a razor blade and handi wipes. Wayne's presentation started with a video and then as Wayne demonstrated his realistic rust techniques, everyone in the room could follow with their own box car shell. Here a big thank you to both clinicians. Both clinics were very well received.

September 9, 2023, Saturday - Mike Komo's layout tour

Layout Tour: Mike Komo will be providing a layout tour for his Santa Fe Railway Needles District N scale (1:160) model railroad layout.

• Date: Saturday, September 9, 2023
  
• Time: Noon - 3:00 p.m.
  
• Location: Carmel Valley (San Diego), California, USA. The address will be emailed to San Diego Division members several days before the layout tour.
• Accessible: Unfortunately, the model train layout is not accessible.
• Masks: Masks are not required.
• About the N scale (1:160) layout: Mike models the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe (AT&SF) Railway from Barstow, California (USA), through the Mojave Desert and onto Needles, California. Needles is located on the Arizona border.
• The era of the model railroad layout is June 30, 1981.
• The size of the layout room is about 10 feet X 20 feet.
• The height of the layout is between 52 to 54-1/2 inches.
• The backdrop is made from drywall.
• The railroad has both Santa Fe and Union Pacific locomotives leading multiple types of trains.
• Many of the locomotives are custom painted and there is a wide variety of locomotives from both EMD and GE industries.
• There are over 200 custom painted and decaled weathered rail cars that are based on prototype photos.
• The main track is about 60 feet, there are two main railroad yards (Barstow and Needles), 14 AT&SF staging tracks, 3 Union Pacific staging tracks, a round house, an engine house and industry spurs.
• The track used is Atlas and Peco flextrack.
• The maximum grade on the layout is 2% and there is a minimum radius of 15-1/2.
• The turnout minimum is a Number 6 turnout.
• The roadbed is homasote over 1/4 inch plywood.
• There are many details on the model railroad layout including a passenger stations, an oil refinery, office buildings, storage sheds, locomotive service sheds, a locomotive fuel and sand station, a cement factory, an industrial scrap yard, gas stations, diners, a mobile home park, a semi-truck transfer facility, roads and more.

Note: Pacific Daylight Time starts March 12, 2023 and Pacific Standard Time starts November 5, 2023. 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 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. Masks are optional at our in-person Meets and Events in 2023, unless otherwise noted or when required by state or federal law.]