Goals
The goal of our club is to have — FUN!
Or, to express it more fully, our model railroading goal is to enjoy the process of creating a miniature world by planning, constructing, and operating model trains. The process involves imagination, creative expression, engineering, technical expertise, and simply the enjoyment and satisfaction of hands on creativity. A major bonus is the camaraderie of fellow enthusiasts and the generous sharing of their expertise.
History
As none of our founding members are still with us it’s difficult to determine our actual beginning date. However, the consensus of our senior members estimates that the club was started over fifty years ago. At one time it was called the Redding Central Trains Hobby Shop. Our first home was at 1703 Sonoma Street. In the mid 1980’s a move was made to a larger building just around the corner to 2354 Railroad Avenue. The building’s former occupants included a cabinet shop, an auto repair service, and a residence for the caretaker of several nearby buildings. Work was undertaken to construct a new model layout in HO scale. Since then additional sections in various rooms have been added to include O scale, N scale, and Z scale layouts.
In 2024, the club took a turn of direction by becoming a non-profit 501 (c) (3) organization, EIN# 35-2901005. An interesting sidenote is that the club’s location is within 100’ of the Redding railroad yard. While working on our model railroads we are often treated to the sound of real trains rumbling by.
Physical Particulars
The interior of our building is approximately 3000 square feet. The first layouts were built on portable tables which could be taken apart and transported for display for special events. For example, the HO layout made frequent appearances during the Holiday Season at the Mt. Shasta Mall. Our main hall features multiple tracks at several levels complete with tunnels, mountains, trestles, rivers, hundreds of buildings and all the aspects of model railroading you might expect to find in a large club layout. The main portion of our club operates HO and O scales. We also have an N scale layout and an oval for Z scale.
All trains operate on DC or DCC. O scale will operate with an MTH-DCS control system, and our Lionel trains use a TMCC control system.
Open to the Public
The club is open to the public, free of charge, on Wednesdays and Saturdays from 10 am to 3 pm. Someone is always on hand to explain how we operate so please come and visit us.