DAVE ADAM'S  —  D&RGW Durlin Branch in On3

The Durlin Branch is a free-lance mountain branch line of the narrow gauge D&RGW fourth division hauling general freight, coal, ore concentrates, livestock and passengers. The branch ties into the San Juan Extension at Chama NM, with Durango CO to the west and Alamosa CO to the east represented by staging. The Durlin branch climbs a steady 3.8% grade through Cresco and Toltec Tunnel up to Carrumba where the line splits. One line continues to Fritz Park, then descends a 4% grade through Resin Creek to Durlin. The other branch serves a large coal mine (stolen from the D&RGW third division) at Flint. Steam locomotives rule with operations augmented by water tank, coal tower, ashpit, stock chute sounds and/or animation.

JACK BURGESS'S  —  Yosemite Valley Railroad

Jack models the Yosemite Valley Railroad in HO scale circa August 1939. The multi-deck layout fills a 18x20 space and all of the track, including turnouts, was handlaid, all of the buildings and bridges were scratch built and duplicate actual structures, and much of the YV rolling stock was scratch built. Construction of the layout was begun in 1980 and the layout was finished 31 years later. Yes, finished no structures to replace or details to add.

CALIFORNIA CENTRAL MODEL RAILROAD CLUB

The club is located in the Agnew California depot that was built 1877 - 1879 by the (narrow gauge) South Pacific Coast Railroad, which was bought out by the Southern Pacific and standard gauged in the early 1900s. The Union Pacific's Coast Line runs right next to the depot and trains are frequent.

The Cal Central is a free lanced California-based mainline railroad placed "some where in the West" with the San Francisco Bay Area, Northern and Southern California, the Pacific North West, and Arizona/Utah all represented 'seamlessly'. The 400ft mainline includes five towns in a folded dog bone with two reverse loops that also provide staging. In addition there is a dual-gauge branch-line. The Cal Central is fully scenicked with beautiful backdrops painted by railroad artist Mike Kotowski. Operations include passenger trains and through freights that set out blocks of cars at on-line yards. Additional assignments include a high traffic branch-line, locals that switch on-line industries, a dispatcher, 2 major yards and a smaller yard that support the mainline trains and also local industries - and the branch-line interchange.

Website for the California Central Model Railroad Club

GUY CANTWELL'S  —  Willoughby Line

Double deck proto-lanced railroad depicting West Coast steam in the 1950s. Scenes along the line are taken from the Sierra, Southern Pacific, Western Pacific, Hetch Hetchy and Yosemite Valley railroads. Operations based track plan with inventive staging and helix design. Layout features lots of super detailed and weathered rolling stock. Scenery is 90% complete on the upper deck. Duckunder at 60 inches. Control is by CVP DCC.

Website for the Willoughby Line

CENTRAL VALLEY O SCALERS
FRESNO

This spectacular layout has been under construction for more than ten years. It has rarely been open, so this is a special treat for OSW this year. It is 32 feet x 75 feet with 650 feet of mainline. It features the scenery magic of Joel Bragdon covering over 80% of the layout. Long trains climbing through the mountains make for great viewing.

JIM DIAS'  —  Western Pacific Railroad

A beautiful re-creation in HO Scale of the Western Pacifc RR in the Spring of 1938. The area of the WP modeled is along the Feather River including the Keddie Wye and a small logging area. The fdelity to prototype of the scenery has been praised by old WP employees, who readily recognze the scenes. An interesting touch is the many sound modules included in the many detailed scenes. The layout has been featured in Railroad Model Craftsman.

CHRIS HOLOMBO  —  Clear Creek Lumber Company

After almost 40 years of operation, the Clear Creek Lumber Company has run out of timber to cut, and will close out the operation. Scrapping of the mill and associated logging railroad will begin shortly after the last operation in early March. The official last day is Saturday, March 7, and special trains will be run. These will operate from 7:30 PM to 9:30 PM and the public is invited to witness this event, the end of an era in the woods.

THE JAKL FAMILY RAILROAD

This huge 34 foot x 80 foot layout fills its own special building. It represents mainline railroading in 1950-1970. ATSF, MKT, and C&BQ diesels and some steam operate over 2000 feet of hand laid code 148 and 125 steel rail. There are multiple mainlines, mountains with spectacular bridges, large classification yard, seven track passenger station, industrial switching district, and large tower overlooking the whole layout from which the layout can be operated. Aisles, walls, and benchwork are all beautifully finished and scenery is over 90% complete. Many of Lorell Joiner's former buildings have been remodeled and installed on the layout.

Additional information and photos can be found here.

F JOHN laBARBA'S  —  HO/HOn3 layout

This HO/HOn3 layout depicts a California narrow gauge railroad interchanging with the Southern Pacific in the 1940s thru 50s. It is a series of scenes, each with its own theme. The fantastic scenery features very fine rock work and effective use of scenic dividers, with freelanced depictions of Los Angeles, Westside Lumber, and a gold mine/mill complex. The layout is operated by radio cab control and has been featured in "Railroad Model Craftsman" and in "Narrow Gauge & Short Line Gazette". A Rail Fans type layout.

F JOHN laBARBA'S  —  Garden Railroad

This Garden Railroad consists Consists of a 54' long dog bone layout located on top of a 5' high concrete retaining wall. It contains approximately 150 of track. A 6' tall hand laid Field Stone retaining wall acts as dramatic backdrop and mountain for the railroad. Various small Conifers, and Ground Covers compliment the Stone Work. Two 6' long tunnels conceal the turn around at each end with 4' radius curves. The 5' tall Wild Cat Canyon Water Fall runs behind railroad. Several bridges with hand made cut stone clad piers. The railroad is Fn3 scale running AMS & Bachmann equipment with engines and rolling stock weathered with crews. Highly detailed town and mine scene under construction. A rail fans layout, based on California Narrow Gage Railroads in the 1930's & 40's.

DAVE LOVELESS'S  —  Southern Pacific Coast Division Monterey Branch

"

The HO railroad models the Southern Pacific Coast division in 1941 and is designed and built for operations. It resides in a purpose-built 24′ X36′ building, with a double-deck lift gate for easy egress. The railroad is double-decked, with the Southern Pacific Coast Division from Gilroy to Salinas on the lower deck and the Monterey Branch on the upper deck. The decks are connected by a single- track 5 level, custom built hidden helix that is equipped with sensors to indicate the location of a train.

The layout has a 12-track staging yard. Each track is a through track, with the South representing King City / San Luis Obispo / Los Angeles and the North end representing San Jose / San Francisco / Roseville.

More information and photos can be found here.

ROD MILLER'S  —  Great Basin Lines

This is a 15 foot x 48 foot Southern Pacific transition era layout. Designed for operation using the staging loop to staging loop scheme. Staging loops are stacked and most of mainline is double decked. All mainline trackage including staging loops and a branchline is operational. Current projects are ballasting the track. scenery, and an industrial area.

The REAL Reason Rod Miller Chose O Scale for His Model Train Layout
(Courtesy TSG Multimedia)

MIKE MUSAL'S  —  Monterey Bay Redwood Company

The On3 Monterey Bay Redwood Company and its Soquel Creek Narrow Gauge is a late-1920's proto-freelance railroad located in the Santa Cruz Mountains, with the requisite sharp curves and steep grades, and a common carrier connection to the wharf in Capitola. The MBRCo draws its visual cues from the WSLCo/Mich-Cal/D&C, while the SCNG draws from the NCNG/PCRwy. This operations-focused Lenz-DCC railroad is a 21' x 22' work-in-progress featuring hand-laid track and mountainous landforms, and while most structures remain mockups there are some scenes approaching completion.

South Bay Historical Railroad Society (SBHRS)

The South Bay Historical Railroad Society (SBHRS) was incorporated in 1985 to preserve the local area railroad heritage while running a working museum to benefit the community. Our members are volunteers and work on the renovation and preservation of the Santa Clara Railroad Depot, the Santa Clara Tower and the two maintenance-of-way buildings.

A large and varied collection of historic railroad artifacts are on display in the Edward Peterman Museum of Railroad History located in the Depot. This now includes the Oregon-Washington Railroad & Navigation business car #184 which was loaned to us and placed on our siding on June 26, 2009.

Within the Depot are two operational HO and N scale model railroad layout displays depicting various railroad eras and operations venues. Constant work by our members on these layouts provide an ever changing panorama, giving our visitors and members a better understanding of the different aspects of model railroading.

The Society is located in the historic Santa Clara (Caltrain) Depot in Santa Clara, California built in 1863.

Tommy Tomasello's Thomas County Narrow Gauge Railroad

The Thomas County Narrow Gauge Railroad is an On30 freelanced railroad set in the central coastal region of California in the spring of 1941. The layout is in a 13" x 17" space and includes 132 square feet of railroad. Scenery is 99.9% completed. The railroad is designed for operation utilizing Car Cards & 4 sided Waybills. Photo backdrops give the space a wide open feel while evoking the feel of the green hills prevalent in California during the springtime.

Tri-City Model Engineers

The Niles passenger and freight depots located in the Niles District of Fremont, California, are home to a railroad museum which contains many local artifacts and model railroad layouts in N and HO scales.

The N scale layout features the SP and WP mainlines from Niles to Oakland, with intermediate communities such as Decoto, Alvarado, and Hayward.

The HO scale layout features the Southern Pacific mainline from Niles to San Jose with the many industries in Niles, Newark, Union City, and other intermediate communities, as well as both Southern Pacific and Western Pacific lines through Niles Canyon to Pleasanton and Livermore. San Jose Cahill St. Station is featured as the model railroad’s large passenger terminal. A section will also feature the BART line through Fremont.