Model Railroad Club Announces December Open House Events

Railway trains have been fascinating children of all ages since being introduced in the 1820s. One of those trains was the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, the first major chartered railroad in the United States. So, whether it was a giant steam engine that roared through the countryside, a plastic musical toy found under the Christmas tree, or a wooden talking train named Thomas, almost everyone has their own “my first train” story.

For the Severna Park Model Railroad Club, the impassioned members have been recreating their favorite train memories and making new ones since 1964. This month, the club will host four open house events to invite everyone into the world of train modeling in hopes of unleashing their inner train conductor dreams.

Located inside the tiny former train station at 3 Riggs Avenue, along the B&A Trail at the intersection of Holly Avenue, this unassuming building is likely passed by many people who either don’t see it or do not know it is in use. But come inside and they will find a magical world of complex HO scale (0.87 of the scale of actual trains) train engines and cars, area building replicas almost entirely made by hand and to perfect scale, detailed landscaping, and tiny people waiting to catch a ride at every station.

Visitors can even take the controls and engineer their train through the multi-track setup and imagine they are cruising through the tranquil Island of Sodor, racing to see Santa via the Polar Express, or to simply relive their own “my first train” story.

Pasadena resident Tyler Nolan is the club’s lead engineer and jack-of-all-trades, otherwise known as president. He has been part of the Severna Park Model Railroad Club since he was 12 years old. Sixteen years later, his passion for model railroading has only grown.

“I am just infatuated with modeling, and I think that fascination is ageless,” Nolan said. “My favorite part of railroad modeling is the creativity. You can design, build, paint and model whatever you want. You can see something in real life or in a documentary or film and know that you can model it, make it yours.”

While the train modeling possibilities are endless, so are the costs. For the last two years, the club has been accepting donations to upgrade the original 1964 wiring, lighting and controls.

“The original control panels to power the trains are a complex system of leap-frogging pins around the panel, which was difficult to learn,” Nolan said. “We are slowly upgrading to a new high-tech remote system.”

Nolan added that the original lighting systems are also being replaced with more efficient, easier-to-find components.

With a limited budget, prioritizing what part of the massive train model table to tackle next has been the club’s biggest challenge.

“You can have a great layout, but you cannot use it without good electrical,” added Nolan, noting that much of the mechanical aspects are tucked away under the model and out of sight.

John Reed has been a club member since 2018. His love of all things model railway began as a child when his grandfather gifted him an O scale train that he found around his Christmas tree when he was just 7 years old. Since then, he’s learned tremendously from other club members around wiring, soldering, landscaping and much more, all of which has only bolstered his love of modeling.

“The craftsmanship in modeling is just tremendous,” Reed said. “Tuesdays are big workdays for us, and we are open to the public. Any home modelers with questions or anyone who wants to learn ‘while doing’ are welcome to join us. You will enjoy being here!”

The Severna Park Model Railroad Club is the only HO scale club from Vienna, Virginia, to Pennsylvania and west to Cumberland.

“We want to keep the model train traditions alive! Bring your kids and know we are here for everyone to experience our trains and tracks,” Nolan said. “You never know, they might just take their love of trains straight into a career,” he explained, noting that he is a professional rail and transit engineering consultant, which sprang from his early love of trains.

The Severna Park Model Railroad Club will be open on the following weekends: December 14-15 and December 21-22 from noon–3:00pm. Doors open at 7:30pm for Tuesday evening workdays. Admission is always free, and donations are greatly appreciated. For more information, visit the Severna Park Model Railroad Club Facebook page, which has a link to the club’s GoFundMe page to help pay for the electrical upgrades currently underway.