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The North Central Florida Model Railroad Club

No space for a model railroad layout? This article provides some ideas about selecting layout designs that fit the space available.

‘Hogtown Traction Company’ is an HO layout currently under construction that features trolley cars powered by overhead lines. During early 1900’s, regions of the US had trolley car service both in big cities and smaller towns. Take a ride back in time…

Adding additional lighting to a current or future layout can have amazing results. This idea was born after a movie company filmed at our club and added their own special lighting. What a difference!

Every club had a founding member who had an idea and through passion, persistence, and perspiration made that idea become reality! Jim Yakubsin was one such person. He loved model trains and searched for a facility suitable for model railroads and like-minded enthusiasts.  Jim founded our club…

Lights, Camera…Action!  After being contacted by a film director, arrangements were made to have our main Club layout filmed for his upcoming movie! Learn what was involved when a film crew turned our clubhouse into a movie set!

This special story is about always wanting to build a model railroad. Often life gets in the way and the railroad is never built. That almost happened here…it was a close call.

Take a trip around the world…in N-scale! This story features a temporary home layout which is setup for the Christmas season. It features two trains passing by various ceramic buildings. That, by itself, is not unusual. What is unique is the ‘story’ behind the buildings and scenery…you’ll have to read more to find out!

Take a look at our most recent layout acquisition – a very nice DC N-scale layout. Built before DCC digital controls entered the hobby, this layout features ‘Cab Control,’ allowing multiple trains to use the same tracks!  See how the builder accomplished this…

Pictured above is the eastern side of our main HO layout. It features towns and industries around our home base of Alachua, Florida. During a recent open house, one visitor exclaimed “Hey, I recognize that little building! I know exactly where it’s located!” Such is the case for many structures on our layout as they were modeled from photos of original buildings and track side settings. A large train yard can be seen on the right. It plays an important role in our latest club activity—Prototypical Railroad Operations. 

“We Bring The Trains To You!”

The North Central Florida Model Railroad Club (NCFMRC) is announcing a new program to bring operating model trains to your organization, school, or group event in Gainesville and Alachua County! This program features a computer-controlled model train layout that functions just like a real railroad! The presentation includes a PowerPoint examination of today’s model railroad hobby, live model train demonstrations, a ‘Yard Switching’ puzzle, and NCFMRC Club information.

Christmas Train Display

The Holiday Season ushers in a myriad of activities to enjoy. In some regions, it may be skiing, ice skating, or sleigh riding. In Florida, there are lighting displays and Holiday shows. Each year our Club participates in a Christmas ‘Choo Choo Train Show’ that features model railroad layouts from surrounding communities. 

Welcome to the North Central Florida Model Railroad Club. 

We’re glad you stopped by for a virtual visit!

Members are learning how to build trains in the yard according car manifests.  They then move those trains to various towns and industries according to Dispatcher schedules.

Trains moving around the main layout travel through small towns and rural scenes as they head toward their destinations. Look closely, you will discover incredible details of everyday life as the trains pass by.

A dual track main line keeps freight and passenger trains moving at speed to maintain their schedules. Engineers must be vigilant when approaching the many operating signals. These signals will change from green to red quickly if a turnout is thrown against oncoming traffic.

As a step back in time, passengers may ‘take the trolley’ if they wish. Both old fashion and newer interurban trolleys are available for boarding in three different locations. A dedicated trolley layout is being completed which will feature 1950’s trolleys using overhead electrical wires for power. Just like the old days!

Thanks to a generous donation from Mr. T.D. Clark, next is a very nicely built and highly detailed HO layout. Flip one toggle switch and the entire layout comes to life with numerous lights illuminating buildings, signs, and streets. Seeing is believing!

Take a mountain journey and experience an HO logging operation in action. Operated by computer, 10 trains run simultaneously through tunnels, across bridges and over trestles to deliver their logs to the saw mill. Peek through windows and see hidden train action!

Watch the computer screen control all train traffic to avoid collisions! Trains run continuously on random schedules so that different trains travel to different places – just like a real railroad!

 Members work together to accomplish various tasks which range from track cleaning to scenery applications. We offer individual and family memberships. We gladly share our collective knowledge to assist new members in reaching their model railroading goals. Shown above is a new family member applying scenery.

From turntables to towers to trolleys, there is a lot to experience when visiting our club. Check it out!

Thanks for taking this brief layout tour of the North Central Florida Model Railroad Club. We invite you to visit us on Sundays from 12:30 to 3p.m. when we are open to the public. All ages and experience levels are welcome! Directions to the Club are listed on this website. 

Drop by and say “Hi!”

Note: We are located on the 2 ^nd floor which is accessible by external stairs only – no handicap access is available. Youngsters under 18 years of age must be accompanied by a responsible adult.

A computer runs all trains automatically according to schedules. Various train signals are located along the tracks and illuminate with red, yellow, and green lights. As in ‘full-size’ railroads, these signals control train traffic to provide for safe operations. Diesel locomotive sounds can be heard as trains navigate around the tracks. 

As shown above, the computer displays a user-friendly screen to operate all trains. Choosing any colored buttons will cause trains to move around the layout. You can also push one button … and ‘Run’em All!’

Trains can also be operated via cell phones! Using a variety of phone apps, wireless control can be established to operate trains either manually or via computer! The train software screen and all its features can be displayed on a phone. It’s like magic!

We offer a selection of presentations for various age groups and interests. Examples are: ‘STEM’ (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math — for Middle or High School students), ‘How To Build Your Own Model Railroad’ (12+ years), ‘Technology Of Today’s Model Railroads,’ (16+ years), ‘Railroading Merit Badge’ (Scout Groups), ‘Having Fun With Today’s Model Railroads’ (all ages). 

For any group, organization, middle school, or high school wishing to have the Traveling Train Layout visit their facility or upcoming event, please enter a request in the ‘message’ section of ‘Contacts.’  There is no charge for this program. (*)

To learn more about model railroading, watch trains run on our many layouts, or just ‘talk trains,’ check our website for club times and directions.  All are welcome! 

*NCFMRC is a non-profit 501c3 organization. Tax deductible donations are accepted. 

A layout featuring memories, memorabilia, and
time travel.

African wildlife, Egyptian pyramids, the Eiffel Tower, and glaciers in Antarctica are just a few of the scenes you will experience traveling along a most interesting N-scale layout created by Don Peters.

Every model train layout has a story behind its creation and this one is no exception. However, this layout’s story is quite unique and very meaningful to the Peters’ family. It all started many years ago….

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Don and his wife, both retired university professors, had business and teaching opportunities in many countries around the world. This allowed them to travel, live and explore various regions of different continents. Each journey was a new adventure which would later play a role in the construction of a model railroad … a railroad that would take them back in time.

While living abroad, they enjoyed exploring the culture, traditions, points of interest that each location offered. As a keepsake, they would buy miniature artifacts that best represented each area they visited. In addition, they often traveled by train to explore and enjoy the many sights of each region.

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Small buildings, street scenes, and landscaping were just some of the items they bought. Other items included animals, rural houses, and people.

Trains wind their way around and through European cities and rural landscapes. They journey by African villages and Egyptian pyramids on their way to other lands. Trains travel by day and by night, thanks to adjustable overhead lighting. The scene can be changed from a bright desert day to a pleasant summer evening. The rails route two trains in opposite directions to different locations. This provides for lots of train activity – day and night!

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The layout’s backdrop is also unique. Colorful artwork is displayed from around the world. Some of the art dates to a time early in their marriage while other pieces were gathered later during many travels. It provides a mixture of fun and welcoming to both family and visitors alike. 

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The track design consists of dual track mainline in an oval with figure-8 inner configuration which crosses ‘under’ the Eiffel Tower! The tracks carry two N-scale passenger trains usually traveling in opposite directions.

The drama of trains passing under the tower’s base is enhanced by the lighted cars suddenly appearing from behind city buildings. Again, dim overhead lighting sets the mood.

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One layout destination is very cool…literally. At one end, the trains travel past an arctic scene! 

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Overall, Don Peters has created a very interesting N-Scale model railroad. It is a fine example of combining memorabilia with model trains for all to enjoy. Just observing the layout with trains moving from scene to scene is fun. But, once you know the ‘story’ of this layout, it makes you want to know more about the ‘story’ of each artifact…and there are many stories to be shared. 

Well done Don!

Sponsored by St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal church in High Springs, FL, multiple layouts are setup and operated for the public to enjoy over two weekends before Christmas. One display is a large G-scale layout featuring sound equipped locomotives moving trains along dual mainline tracks. 

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This layout is packed full of diesel and steam engines to the delight of all visitors. Featured are detailed locomotives, rail cars and accessories, along with colorful buildings towers, tanks, and vehicles of all kinds. A treat to see!

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Rare S-scale passenger trains, with sound and smoke, run around and through snow covered scenery. This layout receives a lot of attention due to it Christmas theme and trains running continuously.

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This layout is always a favorite with the little kids. It features a ‘Thomas the Tank Engine’ train set with an operating ‘Cranky’ the crane. Simple ‘kid friendly’ controls allow junior engineers to run train all by themselves. Tons of fun !

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In addition to the layouts, a ‘switching puzzle’ wooden train game is available for all to try. Cards showing rail cars are drawn to make up a new 5-car train. Then, each ‘Switchman’ (participant) moves and sorts cars to create a new train, counting each switching move along the way. The lowest number of total moves determines the winner. Last year, the winner was an 8 year-old!

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Santa and Mrs. Claus are always on hand to greet all big and little kids. Each show day is filled with sounds of train horns and kid’s excited voices. Huge smiles, looks of surprise and anticipation are seen on many faces. Memories of a lifetime…for everyone.

Many times new model railroad enthusiasts give up on having their own layout.  Why? Often it’s for lack of space.  Here are some ways to overcome space issues: 

Choose a layout design that fits the space available. Think vertical for smaller floor space areas — maybe a multi-level track design would fit that smaller foot print!  A larger multi-purpose room may accommodate a narrow wall mounted track layout. How about a small scale railroad that slides under that guest bed?  Perhaps a fold-down, wall mounted layout that sports photos on one side?  When you don’t have the space…it may be time to get creative!

Maybe a ‘dream layout’ can be one that offers a variety of train operations, like yard switching, turntable-roundhouse movements, or 2-level yards accessed via a helix.  These can provide hours of fun…in a reasonable space size.

If the space available is not large enough for that ‘dream layout, how about changing the model train ‘scale’ to a  smaller size? Maybe you planned on having an HO scale layout one day that included a dual-track mainline, two yards, a roundhouse-turntable, tunnels through mountains, a small town and …..  This will take up some space.

By changing the train scale from HO to N, you can fit the ‘dream’ layout into HALF the HO floor space!  

Pictured here is an N-scale layout featuring a dual-track mainline, highly detailed town, bridges, lights, siding tracks, businesses, a farm, river, and mountains. It measures only 33″ x 63″!

Still not enough space available? You can go even smaller… to Z-scale trains. ‘Z-scale’ is half the size of N-scale, so you can fit twice as much track in the same space! Z-scale offers a nice variety of locomotives, cars, buildings, bridges, track, figures and scenery, so that ‘dream layout’ can still be built. You may need to get a set of magnifying glasses though…Z-scale is small!

Our Club website receives regular requests from the general public on a variety of topics, but one day we were contacted by Dylan Taylor…a movie director! He inquired if we would be interested in having our Club trains filmed for his upcoming movie. After thinking it over for about 10 seconds, we replied “Sure!” …and so began our adventure into the world of film making.

On filming day 1, a large trailer appeared along with 10 people who began the process of turning our clubhouse into a movie studio! It became clear, the best action we could take was to stay out of their way!

Their trailer was full of electrical cables, scaffolds, ladders, lighting equipment, sound equipment, digital cameras, computers, tripods, and enough duct tape to secure the many temporary overhead cables.

Digital cameras were positioned in various locations to film small HO trains traveling by mainline and rural scenes.

Many scenes were filmed using a super close-up lens to capture fine detail of both trains, miniature people and scenery.

Different cameras and lenses were utilized according to the film’s script.  Each scene was filmed multiple times.

“OK, ACTION!” It was now time for the actors to go to work. Each scene with actors was carefully set up with lighting, sound, cameras, dialog, and actions required according to the movie script.

Above is the movie’s main character actor saying his lines, then looking to his left.

Sound technicians adjusted equipment for every scene.

In this film, some ‘actors’ were actually HO scale people! Each was placed into a scene…and then transformed!

Every scene required the film crew to confirm they were ready to film. Only when lights, sound, cameras, scene settings, actor’s positions, and ‘quiet’ were set would the Director say, “ACTION!”

Even the Director, Dylan, got into the act of running some trains!  Here he is driving to a coal train into a specific scene.  He learned quickly how to operate trains using a digital throttle and seemed to enjoy being a model railroader for the first time!

One of the film crew was a lady whose job it was to compare the last scene filmed with the next one. She had to confirm that the background scene, actor’s position, wardrobe, and lighting were correct.

The filming experience was very educational and interesting. The crew spent two 12-hour days filming at our club. One thing stuck out: movie making is hard work by a ‘team’ of people who must perform their jobs correctly in a time-pressured environment.  

The only concern we had in the filming process was potential damage to layout scenery. This crew did a fantastic job in not damaging anything and leaving the entire club cleaner than they found it!

Thanks to a film company (see story ‘Lights, Camera, Action!’), our club discovered the amazing difference spot lighting can bring to any layout. It started with adding 3 spot lights to accent one scenic portion of our main layout… 

Adding spots lights can be as simple as hanging them from wired pvc pipes suspended from the ceiling. Each lamp can then be hung from a pipe and positioned exactly where needed for the best lighting effect.

Existing ceiling lights provide general layout lighting, while spot lamps accent scenes of interest.

The lamps are plugged junction boxes wired inside pvc pipes. The pipe end cables are then plugged into standard wall outlets.

Colored light bulbs can easily be installed for different lighting effects, as can smart LED bulbs for cell phone controlled sunsets!

An additional benefit of spot lighting is it effect on scenery and structures.  While ceiling lights show general colors, spot lights enhance each scene by making the colors more vivid and noticeable.

Structures benefit too by having roof and wall shadows create a more realistic overall scene.

Overall, the use of auxiliary spot lighting makes a layout pop with vibrant colors and dramatic shadows. It focuses attention on specific scenery areas or the entire layout, as shown below.

Our club receives layout donations from time to time. One of the most interesting came from a woman whose father always wanted to build a model railroad. Due to circumstances of every day life, the railroad never had a priority…until it was almost too late. Finally, the daughter said, “Let’s build that model railroad…I’ll help you!”

…and so, they began to plan the railroad. The first challenge was lack of space.  This issue was solved by choosing Z-scale trains and a simple track design.  The next task was selecting a historical time frame.

The father’s favorite period was a Wild West town in the 1870’s. So, he selected various Z-scale building kits, animals, and people to populate the old town. The detail of construction was amazing. Each business building had a hand-lettered sign. Even roof shingles were colored and highlighted for realism. Horses, wagons and townspeople appeared busy along Main Street…just like in 1870.

Layout plans continued with the father planning each scene in detail, including farm animals and fencing. They would review together online Z-scale details and the daughter would then order items for each scene. “He was very particular about the placement of each detail.” “I had to place each hog in just the right spot,” she said.

Realism stands out in every scene.  Crops, trees, fall colors, dirt pathways and streets complete the layout. Necessary items like windmills and ponds for crop irrigation are featured for historical accuracy.

Once every detail was in place, the father was very pleased with his first model railroad. Many hours of enjoyment and togetherness with his daughter were equally important to him during this process.

This layout is special in another way. It was built in a hospice care facility during the father’s terminal illness. The daughter would bring the detail items and work on layout according to her father’s instructions…because he was physically unable to do it. Upon his passing, she donated the layout to our club.  It was an honor to accept it.

DC layout designs prior to digital control (1990) used a track ‘block’ system whereby track sections were electrically independent from one another. In this way, each track section could be set for ON-Forward, OFF, or ON-Reverse. This provided independent control of trains!

For more train control, each ‘block’ could be powered by a different throttle or ‘cab.’ This allowed two trains to be independently operated on the same track! This ‘Cab Control’ was a big step toward adding more realistic train operations, not to mention FUN, in the Model Railroad Hobby.

Our Club’s most recent layout acquisition features dual Cab Control to run two N-scale trains independently. Shown to the right is a ‘block’ Cab switch and power direction switch.

In this example, a ‘block’ is set to use Cab (throttle) #1 to run a train in a reverse (Right) direction. Block switches can also be set to OFF so no power is available to trains in that section.

In addition to Block switches (not shown here), this home-built control panel includes control switches for 12 turnouts. Each snap-type turnout is labeled by number and operated by a combination panel switch. To throw the turnout in one direction, slide turnout # switch to the right, then push the switch top to activate the turnout. Sliding the switch to the left and pushing the top returns the turnout to its straight position. Very simple and easy to use.

To make Cab Control work as intended, there is quite a bit of wiring to do!  Shown on the left is a look inside the layout control panel. The blue button-type switches control all 12 turnouts. Mounted under the panel cover are 20 double-pull, double-throw (DPDT) slide switches for Cab control of the Blocks.  All switch wires are hand soldered and color coded.  The control panel box is also hinged to fold over the layout when not in use. …quite a bit of engineering.

The track Blocks are color-coded on the control panel to make it easier to use Cab Control.  Since the layout construction includes a hidden helix and hidden turnouts, its easy to fall behind a moving train!  

Overall, this N-scale layout was state-of-the-art when originally built. It could offer hours of fun switching cars, running inside a mountain and up a hidden helix track, and operating two trains simultaneously.  It’s old school fun… TODAY!

In the late 1800’s, trolleys were horse drawn. You could pay a nickle and hop aboard for a short trip downtown. On weekends, many people took the trolley to picnic in the park or at the beach. Trolleys took local residents to work and play.

When electricity arrived around 1900, trolleys became powered by DC motors and overhead lines. ‘Motormen’ drove the trolleys using a simple power lever and brakes.  A sharp bell tone warned pedestrians and carriages that a trolley was approaching.

Trolleys featured wooden coachwork built by skilled craftsmen from carriage industries.  The trolley frames were constructed of steel and railroad-type under carriages.

As popularity increased, trolleys became larger with swivel wheel carriages to negotiate tight rail curves. Seen here is the spring-loaded power boom connected to an overhead DC power line.

Trolleys can still be found in urban areas.  Here’s an example of a restored trolley sharing the tracks with modern transit car. The need to reduce auto congestion and pollution in cities has spawned resurgence in electric trolley systems.

One such example is the TECO street car system in downtown Tampa. Newly designed electric street cars travel along various routes to take local residents, tourists, and students to their destinations.

A variety of trolleys are available in HO scale. Many are detailed replicas of original trolleys which once ran through the streets of America’s most well known cities. Philadelphia, Boston, Chicago, and Los Angeles are but a few of the cities modeled.

On our Club layout, an east bound trolley, powered by overhead lines, passes through a scenic crossing.

Heading toward a turn-around loop, ‘Main Street #6’ trolley approaches a crossing along the dual track mainline.

HO scale model trolleys, powered by overhead wires, occasional require a little gentle persuasion to stay on schedule. Trolley layout builder Tom Black applies the ‘magic touch’ to help this car reach its destination.  Everyone loves to watch the trolleys run!