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Short Track RR
Fred McDowell

It’s been a busy summer at our Section House (club house) running trains at AGSEM events like the Civil War and Summergrass. Our members have also logged hundreds of volunteer hours preparing for the upcoming Harvest Festival. The Fall Harvest Fair is a good time to visit us, as we exhibit more trains and a much larger layout than at the Spring Harvest Fair. (During the Spring Harvest Fair we exhibit at the San Diego Fair in Del Mar, in addition to the AGSEM show, thus being in two places at the same time) This October, visitors to our Section House will now be able to see two layouts in operation; the N-Trak layout and the DPE (Donner Pass Exhibit)

The N-Trak layout made our older, modular layout; the one that has sustained our club since the early 90’s. It is portable and flexible, never being set up quite the same way. We have recently reconfigured it into a large “U” shape, creating a much longer main line. It operates in the traditional DC or direct current mode. It also features several new or recently remodeled scenes, in addition to the old favorites.

Some of the most exciting progress in our club has been made with the DPE. Unlike our N-Trak layout, this is a permanent setup. It more accurately depicts a real place, in this case, the former Southern Pacific Railroad (now Union Pacific) route over the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The main line on this layout has grown to approximately 3 miles long and will soon host its own train yard in the town of Colfax. Seismic activity near our workroom is “growing” some mountains on the south end of the exhibition.

This layout operates on the entirely different principle of DCC or Digital Command Control. Essentially, this allows us to operate our model locomotives as though they were under remote control. It’s really neat to see. Come by and ask; we will be glad to show you how it works!

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