2018 Schedule October 5-7, 2018

The Orange County "N" Gineers displayed their layout Friday through Sunday of the 2017 Central Coast Railroad Festival at the downtown SLO Library. Over 20 layouts were on the 2017 Model Layout Tour, see details (PDF).

2018 Schedule

If you're looking for previous schedules: 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017.

This 2018 Schedule was last updated October 2, 2018. Additions and fine-tuning are likely, so please check back now and then.

A complete 2018 Festival Schedule in PDF form is here (last updated 10/2/18).

October 5-7, 2018

If you'd like to be a Sponsor, Participant, or are interested in developing a program for the upcoming Festival, please connect with us via our Contact page.

Actually, some events start in September and go afterward until October 13th, but the Festival proper is October 5th through the 7th. The model railroad layout tour starts on Thursday the 4th and goes through the 7th, details.

You might want to join our mailing list to receive Festival news: click here.

All events are FREE unless otherwise indicated here or in the details.

Coloring Contest at all San Luis Obispo County Library Locations Win round-trip Amtrak tickets (Surfliner) for four from SLO to Santa Barbara Coloring pages are available at all SLO Library locations throughout September Turn in your colored page at any SLO Library location by September 30th to be entered in the drawing The drawing will be at the SLO Railroad Museum on Sunday, October 7th at 1:00pm. For ages 0 through 12 years The artwork will be displayed at the Library branches

Train Story Times at San Luis Obispo County Libraries Appropriate for young children Attendees receive a goodie bag with an Operation Lifesaver coloring book, some crayons, a SLO Railroad Museum pencil, and a picture postcard San Luis Obispo Tuesday, September 18th 10:30AM Cambria Wednesday, September 19th 11:00AM Thursday, September 20th 10:15AM Cayucos Friday, September 21st 10:30AM Atascadero Tuesday, September 25th 10:30AM (Preschool) Friday, September 28th 10:30AM (Toddlers) Arroyo Grande Tuesday September 25th 4:30PM Thursday October 11th at 10:30AM Morro Bay Tuesday October 9th at 10:30AM Wednesday October 10th at 3:30PM Los Osos Thursday October 11th 10:30AM Friday October 12th 10:30AM

Model Railroad Layout Tour 2018 Thanks to Bob Chaparro and the Model Railroads of Southern California Layout Tour No. 58 2018 Layout Tour Details (This document contains the basic schedule at the top, the individual layout details in the middle, and location maps at the bottom; scroll as desired. 13 pages.) 29 Railroads at 21 Locations, Paso Robles to Santa Ynez Thursday-Sunday (dates and times vary by railroad) See some photos from last year's tour

Richard Abraham Central Coast Trains Geoff Clinton Jim Davis Doc Burnstein's Ice Cream Lab Mark Edwards Mark & Lori Hays Ken Kelley Karl Kvilvang Andrew Merriam Ed Morse Ed Muraski Bill Obermeyer Oceano Depot Assn Orange County 'N Gineers Jeff Parker Central Valley Model Works Skip Purper San Luis Obispo Model RR Assn. San Luis Obispo Railroad Museum Santa Maria Valley Railway Historical Museum Michael Sassard Walter Wajda

Festival Wine-Rail Excursion October 5th To Pomar Junction Winery, Friday, October 5th, Details SOLD OUT

Festival Beer Train Excursion October 6th To BarrelHouse Brewing Company, Saturday, October 6th, Details SOLD OUT

Saturday: FREE Festival Shuttle Starts 10:00am, ends 4:30pm Stops: SLO Railroad Museum Sands Inn and Suites SLO Vets' Hall SLO Library downtown (2 large parking buildings nearby) Parking is limited at the Museum Pedicabs available at modest cost

Model Train Layouts at Public Locations: Central Coast Model Railroad, part of the SLO Railroad Museum: Friday-Sunday. Recent video by Jim Zimmerlin (YouTube). SLOMRA layouts at the Oceano Depot, Friday-Sunday Central California Coast Garden Railroad Society layout at the Oceano Depot, Friday-Sunday

Orange County 'N' Gineers layouts at the downtown SLO Library. Saturday and Sunday 10am-4pm Central Coast Trains in Atascadero, Tuesday-Saturday 10am-5pm. Model train store with several operating layouts. Doc Burnstein's Ice Cream Lab in Arroyo Grande. There's a g-scale training running around the ceiling all the time.

At the SLO Railroad Museum: Friday, Saturday, and Sunday: details Highlights include: large HO-scale model railroad (CCMR), swap meet, artwork and photos, food and beverages, excursions, trains coming and going, displays and information, various presentations and demonstrations, new exhibits, walking tour of the Historic Railroad District, win an apple tree sponsored by the California Rare Fruit Growers

Oceano Depot: Friday through Sunday, 10am-4pm OceanoDepot.org Relocated and restored SP depot Displays, layouts, SP boxcar, SMV caboose SLOMRA layouts Central California Coast Garden Railroad Society layout

Daylight Division of the Pacific Coast Region/NMRA: Saturday, October 6th, 8:30am-12:30pm Limited Train Meet Registration is $4 for NMRA members, $5 for non-members SLO Veterans Hall (map), 801 Grand Ave, San Luis Obispo

Santa Maria Valley Railway Historical Museum: Sunday, Noon-4pm Behind the Transist Center at 708 S. Miller St., Santa Maria Sugar mill locomotive, SN boxcar, SMV caboose Model layouts in N, HO, and O scales smvrhm.com

To Top of Page Central Coast Railroad Festival Hosted by the San Luis Obispo Railroad Museum Copyright © CCRRF 2009-present, All Rights Reserved Web design by Free Website Templates; Modified/implemented by Jamie Foster Contact: (805) 548-1894 | [email protected] Instagram Facebook Twitter Events Newsletter Search SiteMap What's New

Many, Many Thanks To: Alpha Fire Hind Foundation Ludwick Family Foundation Amtrak Union Pacific Railroad Santa Maria Valley Railroad San Luis Obispo Railroad Museum The Railroad History of California's Central Coast

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2018 Railroad Festival at the Museum

For a complete Festival schedule (including events at other venues), click here.

Last updated 10/1/18.

Friday, October 5, 2017

Thanks to Gary See for these photos from the 2017 Central Coast Railroad Festival. 10:00 AM 1. Museum opens. $5/adult, $3/child (4-15) 2. Model Layout Open (CCMR) 3. Enter to Win an Apple Tree provided by the California Rare Fruit Growers

2:30 PM Presentation: G-Scale Hobby ("Garden" Railroads)

2:30 PM Amtrak Train Activity just off the Museum platform 2:30pm Amtrak's Pacific Surfliner northbound arriv es 3:20pm Amtrak's Coast Starlight southbound arrives/departs 3:35pm Amtrak's Coast Starlight northbound arrives/departs 4:15pm Amtrak's Pacific Surfliner southbound departs

3:35 PM Wine Rail Excursion departs, details, SOLD OUT

4:00 PM Museum Closes

Saturday, October 6, 2017

10AM to 4PM 1. Free Shuttle runs from SLO Railroad Museum to Sands Inn and Suites to SLO Library downtown (2 large parking buildings nearby) to the SLO Vets' Hall. Parking is limited at the Museum. 2. Pedicabs available at modest cost

10:00 AM 1. Museum Opens, $5/adult, $3/child (4-15). 2. Swap Meet Starts on Museum Platform 3. Railroad art and photography for sale 4. Displays and information 5. Food and Beverages will be provided by The Central Roast and Pomar Junction Winery for Wine Tasting 6. Railroad Hand Tool Demos, various times throughout the day, includes survey equipment and various tools used for track construction and repair 7. New Exhibits since last year: SP Beet Gondola, Teddy Roosevelt Whistle Stop display, Plymouth Diesel #2038 8. Model Layout Open (CCMR) 9. Meet the Amtrak Police Department , 10am-4pm 10. Enter to Win an Apple Tree provided by the California Rare Fruit Growers

11:00 AM Presentation: Streamline Era, by Glen Matteson

1:00 PM 1. Pomar Junction Wine Tasting, in the La Cuesta, ends at 3pm. 2. Santa Maria Valley Railroad Presentation, Rob Himoto, President

2:00 PM Historic Railroad District Walking Tour. Trains transformed sleepy San Luis from the middle of nowhere to the center of somewhere, a place that lured presidents, press barons, and poets. Relive the epic of the West through the men, women, buildings, and rolling stock of the Railroad District. Tour begins from SLORRM, ends at the Ramona Depot in the Dallidet Garden one mile away, and includes nineteenth- and twentieth-century railroad buildings, SP brakeman and author Jack Kerouac's rooming house, and the businesses, homes, and stories of SLO's railroad men and women. Led by local historian James Papp. Meet at the Museum entrance. About 2 hours. Included with Museum admission. Here's a video about this walk.

2:30 PM Amtrak Train Activity just off the Museum platform 2:30pm Amtrak's Pacific Surfliner northbound arriv es 3:20pm Amtrak's Coast Starlight southbound arrives/departs

3:35pm Amtrak's Coast Starlight northbound arrives/departs 4:15pm Amtrak's Pacific Surfliner southbound departs

3:35 PM Beer Train Excursion departs, details, SOLD OUT

4:00 PM Museum Closes

Sunday, October 7, 2017

10:00 AM 1. Museum Opens. $5/adult, $3/child (4-15) 2. Model Layout Open (CCMR) 3. Enter to Win an Apple Tree provided by the California Rare Fruit Growers

1:00 PM Coloring Contest Winner Drawn, contest details

2:00 PM Apple Tree Drawing, need not be present to win.

4:00 PM Museum Closes

Model Railroads of Southern California & The Central Coast Railroad Festival Layout Tour No. 58 October 4 - 7, 2018 (Thur. - Sun.) http://ccrrf.com/ https://groups.io/g/ModelRailroadsofSoCalif Copyright 2018 Model Railroads of Southern California Updated 9/18/18

Owner/ Dates & Railroad Major Cross Scale Address Group Times Open* Name Streets Refugio Road & Richard Saturday Western 3176 Horizon Drive, G Mission Drive Abraham 9:30 - 3:00 Pacific Santa Ynez (Highway 246) Model Central Thur., Fri. & HO, 7600 El Camino Real, Train Store El Camino Real & Coast Sat. N, O Suite 3, Display Pueblo Avenue Trains 10:00 - 5:00 & G Atascadero Layouts 246 Eastbourne Foster Road & Geoff Sat. & Sun. Garden G Terrace, Orcutt Expressway Clinton 10:00 - 3:00 Railroad Santa Maria (Route 135) Crown & Saturday 1303 Crown Way, State Highway 46 Jim Davis Summit G 10:00 - 3:00 Paso Robles & Golden Hill Road Railroad Doc Thur. & Sun. Village Burnstein's 12:00 to 9:00 114 W. Branch Street, Grand Ave. & U.S. Overhead G Ice Cream Fri. & Sat. Arroyo Grande Highway 101 Railroad Lab 12:00 - 10:00 Cascade Peak & Calif. Canyon Hwy Mark Saturday 6450 Park Hill Road, Buena G (Route 58) & Park Edwards 10:00 - 3:00 Santa Margarita Vista Hill Road Railway Thur. & Fri. Mark & Lori 11:00 - 5:00 MNL 135 Big Canyon Court, Huasna Road & G Hays Saturday Railroad Arroyo Grande Highway 227 10:00 - 2:00

The Great Train Room/ Ken Sunday Santa 3377 Cimmaron Drive, Calzada Avenue & O Kelley 10:00 - 4:00 Ynez Santa Ynez Samantha Drive Valley Redwood Railway Western This railroad is only open to members of Pacific Karl Not Open To HO & Model Railroads of Southern California and ______Kvilvang General Public HOn3 members of the National Model Railroad Unnamed Association. Railroad Andrew Friday SP Coast 4334 Wavertree Street, Tank Farm Road & HO Merriam 6:00 - 10:00 Line San Luis Obispo Orcutt Road Saturday Garden 4301 Edenbury Drive, Blosser Road & Ed Morse G 11:00 - 3:00 Railroad Santa Maria Clark Avenue Friday 4:00 - 6:00, Corbett Canyon Saturday Train Town 745 Quebrada Lane, Road/Carpenter Ed Muraski 10:00 - 12:30 O & S USA Arroyo Grande Canyon Road & & 1:30 - 5:00 Printz Road Sunday 12:00 - 4:00 Obermeyer El Camino Real & Bill Fri. & Sat. 4800 Carrizo Road, Ranch HO Santa Cruz Obermeyer 4:00 - 8:00 Atascadero Railroad Road/Traffic Way Fri. Sat. & Museum Oceano 1650 Front Street Belridge & Sun. Display HO Depot Assn. (Highway 1), Oceano Front/Pacific Blvd. 10:00 to 4:00 Layouts Friday 1:00 - 4:00 SLO Public Library Orange Saturday Modular Community Room Palm Street & County 'N' N 9:00 - 5:00 Layout 995 Palm Street, Osos Street Gineers Sunday San Luis Obispo 10:00 - 3:00

Thursday Jeff Parker 12:00 - 6:00 Central Friday Northern 1203 Pike Lane, 13th Street & The Valley 10:00 -12:00 HO Pacific Oceano Pike Model & 1:30 - 6:00 Works Saturday 9:00 - 5:00 Pacific Sunday 5121 Foxen Canyon Palmer Road & Skip Purper Coast On30 10:00 - 3:00 Road, Sisquoc Foxen Canyon Road Railway San Luis Fri. Sat. & Portable Oceano Depot Obispo Belridge & Sun. Club HO, N 1650 Front Street Model RR Front/Pacific Blvd. 10:00 - 4:00 Layouts (Highway 1), Oceano Assn. San Luis SLO Freight House Fri. Sat. & Pacific Obispo HO, 1940 Santa Barbara Oso Street & Santa Sun. Coast Railroad HOn3 Street, Barbara Street 10:00 - 4:00 Railway Museum San Luis Obispo Santa Maria Just South of Santa Valley HO, Sunday Display Maria Transit Center, Miller Street & Railway N & 12:00 - 4:00 Layouts (400 E. Boone Street) Boone Street Historical Lionel Santa Maria Museum Michael Sunday 922 Brookhill Drive, Scott Street & Unnamed G Sassard 10:00 - 5:00 Paso Robles Airport Road Union Valley Walter Sunday Garden 4301 Heather Circle, G Parkway & Wajda 10:00 - 3:00 Railroad Santa Maria Bradley Road *Bold Text Indicates PM Hours

NOTES: Please observe the hours of operation for the layouts. Do not arrive early. Do not bring pets into homes. Youth under 18 years of age must be accompanied by an adult. Persons taking this tour assume all risks and liability for their personal safety. Group Moderator is not responsible for personal loss or injury to those taking this tour. Information current as of 9-18-18 SPECIFIC DIRECTIONS, PARKING INSTRUCTIONS & OTHER INFORMATION FOR LOCATIONS: Jim Davis - Driveway extends into the back yard for easy wheelchair access. Mark Edwards - Enter the marked gate west of the residence. Park in the designated area. The railroad is a short walk up an unpaved trail. Restricted parking and level access on unpaved surfaces is offered at the residence for guests with limited mobility. Ed Muraski - Located on the grounds of the Centaur Spa. Bill Obermeyer - This is a working horse ranch. Please do not bring dogs on to the property. Jeff Parker/Central Valley Model Works – Brief tours of the Central Valley Model Works facility will be given as time permits. San Luis Obispo Railroad Museum – Admission: Adult, $5, Child (4-15), $3, Child (3 and under), free. Outside exhibits and activities are free. Santa Maria Valley Railway Historical Museum – Operating layouts set up in the box car at the museum just off Miller Street, which is just south of Santa Maria Transit Center. Enter parking lot from service road off Boone Street. Persons taking this tour assume all risks and liability for their personal safety.

LAYOUT DESCRIPTIONS-

Richard Abraham - This 150 foot x 63 foot garden railroad is elevated two feet off ground level with double track stainless steel rail. Western scenes predominate, including a sizeable Little Big Horn battle featuring Custer, his men and their Indian foes. Many, many Western building support this theme. There is a waterfall, large thirty-six inch turntable, six stall roundhouse and a ten-foot long version of the New York's famous Hell's Gate Bridge over running water. Richard has thirty-one different G scale locomotives, some battery operated and the remainder track powered. All of this can be enjoyed in three seating areas covered by arbors.

Central Coast Trains – This well-stocked family-owned model train store has three finished in-store display layouts in HO, N, O plus a G scale overhead layout. Website: http://www.centralcoasttrains.com/ Store HO Layout: http://www.centralcoasttrains.com/tour-shop.html Video Tour: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NMpzG7ixBo

Geoff Clinton – This is an elevated garden railroad with 100-plus feet of mainline, ten to twelve-foot radius curves, and a yard/ steam-up area. There will be live steam locos both running and on display. Geoff runs both narrow gauge and standard gauge live steam and is currently in the process of building a large expansion to the railroad. You can view video of the Railway at the following Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1U5EhMPoN8&feature=share&list=UUmqXEwSwzZlVGkH2scKfHfQ

Jim Davis - This garden railroad features two separate loops of track totally approximately 600 feet in an elevated 20 foot x 30 foot tree-shaded setting. The inner loop is narrow gauge with an Old West theme and the outer loop is standard gauge reflecting the 1940s and '50s. Trains operate on both track and battery power. Doc Burnstein's Ice Cream Lab – This the best (and only) venue on the tour to enjoy ice cream while watching trains, with hand-crafted ice creams made on-site. The G-scale train travels the perimeter of the shop on a continuous loop, passing through two rooms and outside the dining area. The layout includes bridges, suspended track, and mountain scenery. Running since 1981, the Village Railroad includes an engine that replicates a train that traveled through Arroyo Grande in 1883-1896. Website: http://docburnsteins.com/

Mark Edwards - Mark & Michelle Edwards' garden railway is a work in progress. The inspiration for their garden railway is the “Happiest Place On Earth.” Not the one you may visit today, but one you knew growing up – or might have known, if plans had developed as intended. Highlights will include a typical American Main Street flanked by Liberty Street, a journey around Cascade Peak through Nature’s Wonderland and Rainbow Caverns, and a showcase of future transportation alternatives, including People Mover and Monorail systems. The entire site is encircled by passenger and freight steam trains on a “grand circle tour” climbing through Horse Shoe Curve over the Cuesta Grade, clinging along Carrizo Gorge, passing in the shadows of Dos Cabezas rocks, precariously traversing Goat Canyon trestle, and descending over the falls feeding the Rivers of America before returning to the Main Street Station. Locomotives and rolling stock collected from Denver and Rio Grande Western still operate under that historic herald on this tourist destination line. As most projects of this scope, the Cascade Peak & Buena Vista Railway will never truly be finished, but the Main Street Trolley, perimeter loop, and new Mine Train are now complete and operating. Placeholders exist so visitors may visualize future additions. This garden railroad covers 2,300 square feet. The total mainline is 365 feet with the Perimeter Loop comprising 275 feet of that.

Mark & Lori Hays - This garden railroad measures 80 feet x 80 feet with 700 feet of track plus sidings on a twenty degree hillside slope. It features three swale-spanning bridges, a covered trestle with three tracks including a seventy-foot long storage track within the "mountainside", a 13 foot x 20 foot lake fed by a waterfall that the train runs behind, a mountain/canyon section, and a large industrial area. Recent additions include painting the lake bed, several town street and park scenarios and dozens of scale figures. An upper track separate from the lower track has been added. It spans a large canyon on a suspension bridge. This track currently runs an analog LGB Amtrak train and approaches the future site of a frozen lake mountain resort. Ken Kelley - “The Great Train Room” is about 1,500 square feet of Lionel, Ives, American Flyer and period toys. All are Pre-World War II in original condition. In total there are five layouts: Layout 1: A Baggage Cart of Trains (Pre-War O Gauge, Circa 1918-1932) Layout 2: Lionel O Gauge Layout (Introduction to realism, Circa 1940) Layout 3: Standard Gauge Trains (Classic Period, Circa 1932) Layout 4: Lionel at WAR (Lionel's #203 armored train set, Circa 1917) Layout 5: Trolley Line in the City (Lionel's #8, Circa 1913) Website: http://www.thirdrail.com/ The outdoor layout “Santa Ynez Valley Redwood Railway” nestled in among 110 full grown Redwood trees with three-rail Lionel trains operation TMCC, Legacy, or Conventional modern trains. Most of the operators prefer steam engines over diesels. There is approximately six scale miles of track in an area about 250 feet by 35 feet with three townships (Stockton, Fresno, & Mojave) that have multiply sidings. This railroad also will be open, subject to the availability of operators.

Karl Kvilvang - This HO scale 24 foot x 49 foot layout represents the Western Pacific's Feather River Route. It includes the town of Portola, the famous Keddie Wye and the town of Quincy. Eventually it will include all of the major bridges on this route as more detail is added. The HOn3 layout is based loosely on Colorado. Note that this railroad is only open to members of Model Railroads of Southern California and NMRA members.

Andrew Merriam – This model railroad is based upon the Southern Pacific’s Coast Line in the early 1950s when both steam and black widow diesel plied the rails. The area modeled covers Santa Margarita to Guadalupe including the Cuesta Grade horseshoe curve and the Stenner Creek Trestle. One branch line includes the Santa Maria Valley to the Betteravia sugar beet refinery. A second branch includes the award-winning double track 1912 Bascule Bridge to the port of San Pedro. The mainline totals about 340 feet with super elevated curves and hand-laid track where visible. Digitrax DCC is used to control sound equipped locomotives. Scenery is about eighty-five percent complete. Operations include yard switching, several peddler freights, four through freights and six through passenger trains. Scenic highlights include the Stenner Creek Trestle (74 inches long) and Horseshoe Curve, Serrano to Cuesta Summit, San Luis Obispo Freight House and passenger Depot, Oceano and Guadalupe and the six foot long bascule bridge module to the Port of Los Angeles at San Pedro.

Ed Morse – In addition to a 300 foot highly-detailed garden railroad Ed has a large collection of full-scale railroad artifacts including lanterns, lamps, oil cans, locks, a wig-wag, a semaphore and a speeder.

Ed Muraski - Ed's 23 foot by 16 foot railroad can handle four O scale and one S scale trains at one time. The O scale, three-rail mainline is sixty-three feet long. The era is December 1967 and represents areas in Indiana and California. Special scenic features include moving ice skaters and a merry-go-round, plus scale neon sign, scenic backdrops, plus rail siding of train cars parked in a staging area, scale Brooklyn Dodgers Ebbets Field with handmade and painted scale players, an air force/military setting, 185 people, 113 vehicles, 40 structures, 11 train engines, 59 train cars. Ed's layout is located on the beautiful grounds of the Centaur Spa, a health-oriented Bed and Breakfast facility.

Bill Obermeyer – This layout blends Southern Pacific and Santa Fe operations in the mid-1950s, plus a little before and a little after. Motive power consists of Southern Pacific Black Widow diesels and Cab Forwards and Santa Fe steam and zebra-striped diesels. The layout is in a separately room that is 24 feet x 17 feet. The layout is a dog bone that drops down to two levels. The top section starts at a High Sierra lumber mill scene with three reverse, staging, passing loops and then goes through bridges to reach Glendale, California. The line then descends down to a dessert section that resembles Monument Valley, Arizona with passing sidings in between. After going through the dessert it emerges onto a bottom level and makes it way to the bottom three reversing loops that feature a wharf scene where lumber can be off-loaded to ocean going ships. Minimum radius is thirty-two inches and all track is Micro Engineering Code 83. Except for two curved Walters turnouts all the rest are Micro Engineering Number 7s. Layout is DCC with NCE controls. The room's backdrop features twelve long sections from BackDrop Warehouse that, with some difficulty, all match and blend together over a span of sixty feet. The layout was constructed by Bill with one exception: Fellow local NMRA member Rick Fulkerson was a tremendous help with his vast knowledge of electronics and he made custom control boards for automatic turnout controls on the six reverse loops. Without Rick’s help this would have never been done! Layout is approximately fifty percent done.

Oceano Depot Association – The Oceano Depot Association’s mission is to restore, preserve, and operate the former Southern Pacific Oceano Depot and other structures that have historical significance for historical, scientific, educational and recreational purposes for the benefit of the residents of and visitors to the Community of Oceano. The Association’s numerous public displays include small HO and N scale layouts, a Southern Pacific boxcar, a Union Pacific caboose, produce crate labels, railroad paperwork, photos, tools and equipment. The Depot also houses a collection of World War II photos and memorabilia and local history items. Website: www.oceanodepot.org

Orange County 'N' Gineers – This N scale club was started in 1974, a year after N-TRAK was formed. As with N-TRAK, the club promotes model railroading by modeling model a complete scenes in N scale. The clubs sets-ups and assembles modular layout sections to form large operating layouts at public shows, mainly in Southern California. In 1995 the club had grown to the point were it could not provide running time for all the members at the shows and the nature of what different members wanted the club to operate had changed, Thus was born the N-Trak Express club. Now both clubs can be seen at many of the local train shows. The original club has continued to grow and change as new members and modules are added to the group. Website: http://www.ocngineers.com/ Jeff Parker/Central Valley Model Works – This layout was built by the late Jack Parker, owner of Central Valley Model Works. It is now operated by his son, Jeff, and Jeff’s wife, Heather. It represents the Northern Pacific in Montana in the era from the early 1940s to the early 1960s. The often photographed scenes depict Logan, Montana. While considerable "artistic license" has been taken with the actual arrangement of Logan, the layout allows the simulation of the actual operation of Northern Pacific trains going to and from St. Paul and Tacoma. The layout room is a generous 17’ x 50’ plus an extra eight-foot extension on the east end for return loops. The track is, of course, Central Valley CVT. That product was designed and developed for and then used on this layout. Jack’s good friend and fellow N.P. model railroader David Coster helped design the layout and also did all of the wiring. The layout features a great roster of detailed brass steam locomotives and these all are tuned and weighted to pull scale length trains. Brief tours of the Central Valley Model Works facility will be given as time permits. Photo website: http://www.cvmw.com/imagecvmw/color_photos/index.htm Central Valley website: http://www.cvmw.com/

Skip Purper – Skip is modeling the Sisquoc Branch of the narrow gauge Pacific Coast Railway in On30. Here is a link to a map of the Pacific Coast Railway showing the Sisquoc Branch: http://www.ccrrf.com/assets/PCRy-map.jpg The layout is a “modular” L-shaped 20-foot x 2-foot that resides more or less permanently in his workshop-garage. Skip has scratch-built or kitbashed all of the structures and painted his own backdrops. The layout includes a scratch-built model of the Sisquoc Depot, the gravel pits and a portion of the Palmer oil racks. The railroad is powered by a simple Prodigy Express DCC unit and motive power is by Bachmann-Spectrum and Broadway Limited. Future plans include equipping the locos with operating front couplers and extending the turnaround ‘Y’ to facilitate operations.

San Luis Obispo Model Railroad Association – Members are actively engaged in multiple modeling scales, including HO, N, O, On30, and G. Members working in other scales are also represented, and almost every scale may be found at their events & runs. Members have collaborated to build a modular layout in N scale, and they now have an operational HO modular layout as well. Website: www.slomra.org San Luis Obispo Railroad Museum – Operating on the site of the restored 1894 Southern Pacific Freight Depot, the San Luis Obispo Railroad Museum is preserving the railroad history of California and the Central Coast by collecting, restoring, displaying and operating historic railroad equipment. The Central Coast Model Railroad occupies a 1,500 square foot space in the Museum. The goal is to portray the railroad history of the California Central Coast in miniature and operating scale trains in their historic context. In concept the HO scale model represents various aspects of railroad life in San Luis Obispo and northern Santa Barbara counties including the geographical area, industries served, and train operations of the various railroads located there. A double deck peninsula layout is utilized with realistic miniature recreations of up to sixteen historic local railroad scenes along the Central Coast. Major features include the Pacific Coast Railway pier at Avila, the town of San Luis Obispo as a railroad division point incorporating the roundhouse, water tanks the station and adjacent historic buildings, the Stenner Creek trestle and famous horseshoe curve. Operationally there are full-length Southern Pacific passenger trains including the colorful and renowned streamlined Daylight, the Lark and mail trains. Freight trains carry local produce, lumber, beets, oil and general merchandise. A maintenance of way trains also is included. The model mainline will be over five hundred feet long. Trains incorporate sound and radio control operations to present a realistic presentation of railroading along the Central Coast. Currently the Pacific Coast Railway HOn3 model railroad includes Avila Beach and the Port Harford Pier areas. The major elements include Harford Pier (nearly 16 feet in length), a four-foot high painted backdrop of the harbor area and the town of Avila Beach in the early 1930s, including the award-winning wood truss bridge over San Luis Obispo Creek as featured on the cover of the September 2012 issue of Railroad Model Craftsman. The Southern Pacific Coast Line in HO scale is a two-level layout that will ultimately have a mainline run of over five hundred lineal feet. Two hundred and forty feet of the lower level are now in operation. The Surf Depot area and the bridge crossing the Santa Ynez River are complete. The Stenner Creek Trestle (eight actual feet in length) is built and being installed. Track is laid for the San Luis Obispo yard, which is eight tracks wide and thirty feet in length. Many of the historic structures are in place. Where possible all scenes modeled are based upon actual Southern Pacific track plans and 1950s era photographs. Website: http://www.slorrm.com/

Santa Maria Valley Railway Historical Museum – This non-profit, educational museum is dedicated to the preservation of the railroad heritage of California, the Central Coast, and the Santa Maria Valley. There will be operating Lionel & HO trains set up in a 1930s Sacramento Northern box car at the museum. In addition to the boxcar the Museum’s collection includes a late 1800s-early 1900s locomotive used by the Betteravia Union Sugar Company and a 1930s Santa Maria Valley Railroad Caboose No. 180 and a Canadian Track Inspection Speeder. The Museum also sells trains and related equipment. Michael Sassard - Michael has created a whimsical G scale layout in his garage. The railroad is elevated 78 inches and therefore must be viewed from a standing platform. The finished layout is roughly 20 feet by 20 feet. Michael can operate five G scale trains and one Standard gauge train simultaneously. There is one static display of a Battery Lionel G gauge train (The Hogwarts Express), his only British train. This is not a typical model railroad. He runs trains to special “train” music through a special super sound system. Michael's philosophy is reflected in unusual scenery which loudly says "Fantasy!", a world of make believe. There are figures from Disney and movies, superheroes, angels, fairies, bears dressed like people, even a “head” from Easter Island, two science fiction robots and an Alien . There are abundant aircraft (because Michael likes planes). There is even St. Frances with his animals. Scenery is mostly large or oversize items because they are easy to see. He makes abundant use of Christmas lights with varied color and lighting patterns. There are three castles and plenty of royalty and knights. There are unicorns and Pegasus. What isn't displayed on the layout is displayed on the walls of the garage and the walls of the control platform. There are no turnouts and no switching maneuvers. Once the trains begin running they all run until his thirst has been quenched. Actually, his trains don’t run, they dance. It is a concert. He likes to run them to music and at an entertaining pace.

Walter Wajda – This garden railroad consists of three separate loops, two of which have reversing capability and two have one siding each. The three loops are interconnected and have access to a "rail yard" and to two separate storage areas: an indoor patio and an outdoor shed. The layout is DCC powered.