The GMRS has been around since 1968 and in the current Crimea Street location over 30 years. The number of members has varied over the years, starting with 10 and growing to the current 30+. The members range in age, expertise and skills and over the years have built an impressive 2,500 square feet layout with thousands of feet of wire, mountains over 8 feet high, dozens of bridges, and four rail yards.

 

‘Playing trains’ takes on a different dimension on the railroad: starting at 6:30 pm on most Wednesdays the members don radio headsets and are assigned trains by a dispatcher, just like on real railroad. They set out with their train on a scale 300 mile journey. That journey can take up to 8 hours in ‘scale time’ – an hour in the real world. The dispatcher sits in a separate room tracking the movements of dozens of trains and giving instructions to each engineer over the radio. It sounds complicated but it’s an amazing experience. And above all else its fun, having fun is our number one rule. The club always welcomes visitors who want to learn more and maybe even join – just show up on a Wednesday night.