There are hundreds of Model Railroad Clubs in the USA. (Some links of lists of them will be provided at the bottom of this page). The most popular scale of Model Railroad Clubs is "HO" but all the other Scales of Model Trains are well represented in the Club listings. The basic structure of Clubs is always about the same, just a group of individuals banding together with a common interest in Trains and Model Trains in particular. Most Clubs are pretty informal in nature.

There are 3 basic types of Clubs:

a) Permanent Home Clubs.       These clubs have rented a permanent space in a building basement etc. to build their layouts. They usually have regular meetings maybe once a week, but many Club members have keys to get into the Club layout at any time to work on the layout. Some of these Clubs have layouts that cover thousands of square feet. These "Permanent Clubs" often have several layouts in the same location covering different scales.
a) Private Home Clubs.       These clubs have members who are building a pesonal layout in their private home, but rotate to whose house they meet in, usually once a month.

a) Modular Clubs       These clubs usually do not have a permanent home. Each Member builds a small section of a layout.. (usally about 6 Ft long and 30 inch wide) which are built to the same standards, for size, shape, electrical connections and location of the track so they can be mated together. But from there on it is up to the individuals imagination as to how to scenic his section, or what "theme" to use for his module...we have seen some fantastic modules built to a Circus theme, mountain gorges, oil refineries, etc. Then the Club meets at a Train Show, Shopping Center (around the Holidays), and assemblies one huge train layout to show to the public, and run trains. (Most members build more than one module to bring.)

One such N-Trak** Layout a couple of years ago in Louisville Ky, had over 300 modules and almost a 1,000 feet of track, all running and showing off their trains. Modules were brought from all over the USA and Canada to partipate in the display. **N-Trak is an organization of about 2500 individual modelers from all over the world that build their Modules to the N-Trak Standards, N-Trak started the modern "Module" movement about 20 years ago.

Here is a link to Trains.com that has a great list of Model Railroad Clubs you can Search to find one near you that will having an open house or exhibition at a public location open to the public.

     

Railroad Historical Societies

     There are over 80 Railroad Historical Societies in the USA and Canada. These are groups that are dedicated to preserving his memories and history of the specific railroad(s) the group has interests in.

     These Organizations usually do not have formal offices or permanent locations, but primary use the Internet for the common meeting ground of their members. But some do have Collections of Railroad artifacts and records and a permanent location open to the public, such as the Galloping Goose Historical Society in Dolores, Colorado.

     But they all have Annual or Bi-Annual membership meetings in various locations around the USA. You just have to check their Website for details on their meetings. (Date,Location,etc.) Membership in these groups is usually only $20-$30 yearly.

     Remember these are all "volunteer" organizations and have no paid staff to help you with endless questions,you have to do the research for yourself. But many of them put out Magazines once or twice a year for paid members, that contain a lot of Historical data. Here is a link to Trains.com that has a great list of Railroad Historical Societies you can Search to find one for the railroad you might be interested in learning more about.

Resource to local Railroad Historical Societies

     

Tourist Railroads and Railroad Attractions

     There are over 500 Full size (Called "Protoype") Railroad Attractions accross the USA and Canada. These range in size from a local Museum with a few railroad Artifacts, to the Durango and Silverton Railroad in Durango Colorado, which takes almost 250,000 people a year for a 45 mile to the historic mining town of Silverton in the San Juan mountains, and has a 40,000 sf. ft Railroad History MUseum next to its Ticket office in Durango, Colorado...

     But many of these Tourist Railways and Museums are quite small and local in nature, so sometimes it takes a bit of detective work to locate them and the hours they might be open to the public.

     The vast majority of these 500 attractions are run 100% by Volunteers who want to preserve the Historic nature of the great American Railroads, and open only a limited number of days a year. So make sure you call ahead or check their site on the Internet.

Resource to Locate Tourist Railroads and/or Museums in Your area.

     

Historic Tourism

     Many of these Tourist Railroads now feature, Dinner or Picnic trains, and are a great place to take the family (including the kids, and grandkids) to ride a train, including many Trains Powered with Steam Locomotives.

     Visiting Railroad Museums and riding Historic trains are becoming part of the Eco-Friendly trend of "Historic Tourism"... meaning visiting attrations that are nearby, but can show the family a lot about the History and growth of the United States, and how people lived and traveled in times past.

     

Thomas The Tank Engine & Polar Express Train Rides for the kids.

     Some of the Tourist Railways around the US also have weekends where they feature a replica of Thomas the Tank Engine, or the Polar Express and offer short rides for these young train fans. Contact the ones you find in your area to see if they will be offering "Thomas" or "Polar" weekends..