Welcome
If you are looking for an active model railroad organization where you can learn about the model train hobby, share your modeling tips, meet other model railroaders, start new friendships and have fun, we invite you to join the San Diego Division of the National Model Railroad Association. 

If you are not a member and would like to join, and attend our next meeting or event, please call Rudy Spano, Member Services, at (858) 761-1424. A list of this years events are here online. 

Next Event:

Saturday, March 8, 2025

Layout Tour: Tim Foote will be presenting his HO scale freelance Desert Highlands Railroad. It is a freelanced model railroad layout based on California's High Desert rail line from Barstow, California to Kingman, Arizona during the transition period of the railroad of the 1950s. To be more specific, Tim's layout era is approximately in the 1950s and the 1960s.

• Date: Saturday, March 8, 2025.
  
• Time: Noon–3:00 p.m.
  
• Lunch: Tim will be graciously providing hot dogs, chips, drinks and cookies for everyone who attends.
  
• Location: San Diego County. The address will be emailed to you.
  
• Parking: There is on street parking and you'll enter the property through the side of his house. Signs will be posted.
  
• Accessible: Unfortunately, the model railroad layout is not accessible.
  
• Masks: Not required.
  
• Inspiration and Era Information: The Desert Highlands Railroad was inspired by Tim's fondness of high desert railroading and rail fanning in Southern California and Arizona. The era of the layout is in the transition era and specifically, is loosely based during the 1950s and 1960s.
• Operations Sessions: While the railroad was not originally made for Operation Sessions, Tim had already built railroad yards, sidings and plenty of spurs, making it easy to make the railroad Operation Session ready. Tim uses JMRI (Java Model Railroad Interface) to plan operations and uses a manifest system to run Operation Sessions.
• Operation Session Lessons: Tim is offering anyone in the Division who visits his model railroad layout tour, to take part and learn about Operation Sessions. This is something to look forward to if you haven't participated in any Operation Sessions or are a veteran who enjoys Operation Sessions. Please email Tim to schedule your place during his layout tour.
• Carpooling: Help take the sting out of high gas prices and carpool with a friend.

For more details about all our 2025 events, please see our Meets/Events web page here.

September 2025 - PSR 2025 Convention - Pacific Southwest Express

PSR 2025 Convention: This is the Pacific Southwest Region (PSR) 2025 Convention, the Pacific Southwest Express. Details are listed on the convention's website listed just below.

• Date: September 3–6, 2025.
  
• Location: Ivine Hilton, 18800 MacArthur Blvd, Irvine, California, 92612. The Irvine Hilton is located next to the John Wayne Airport which is located in Santa Ana in Orange County, California, USA
  
• Website: www.pacificswexpress.org
• Accessible: Yes, the facility is accessible.
• Masks: Not required.
• Activities Will Include:
  • Welcome Reception, Pacific Southwest Region Board of Directors Reception, Pacific Southwest Region Members Meeting, Hobo Breakfast, Celebration of Models, Clinics, General Interest Clinics, Model railroad layout tours, Operation Sessions, Prototype tours, General Interest Tours and Vacation Tips, Model Railroad Swap Meet, Silent Auction, Hobo Auction and the Awards Banquet and Raffle Prizes

More About the San Diego Division
The San Diego Division holds in-person meetings every second Saturday of the month, which include members showcasing their own modeling work, layout tours, and modeling clinics. (A clinic is where one of our members demonstrates techniques or skills needed for modeling, for example, an electronics clinic, how to solder, how to weather rolling stock, understanding decoders, or techniques to improve rolling stock standards.) We have quarterly meetings (which includes a luncheon), an annual swap meet, annual picnic and other activities for our members. The Division newsletter, "The Mail Hook", is published quarterly by email and is sent to our Division members.

The San Diego Division (California, USA) includes the Southern California counties of Imperial and San Diego with a population of over three million, and is one of four divisions in the Pacific Southwest Region (PSR) of the National Model Railroad Association (NMRA). The other PSR Divisions are the Arizona Division, Cajon Division and the Los Angeles Division. Please find links to the National Model Railroad Association membership rates on our website. 

San Diego Division Facebook Page, Facebook Group & YouTube Channel 

• San Diego Division Facebook Page (Anyone can "Like" this Facebook Page.)
• San Diego Division Facebook Group (Private Facebook Group for our members, new as of April 2020.)
• San Diego Division YouTube Channel (Our YouTube Channel is new as of the Summer of 2020.

Model railroading is also quite active in San Diego County, with multiple model railroad clubs (including the four clubs at the San Diego Model Railroad Museum in Balboa Park), there are many home layouts (of which a number of have active regular operating sessions), a very active Garden Railway Society, three model train stores, and several other general hobby stores that have model railroading supplies.

About the National Model Railroad Association
The National Model Railroad Association, Inc., is a 501(c)(3) not for profit educational organization that advances the global scale model railroading community through education, advocacy, standards, and social interaction. The NMRA is a three-tiered organization. The National Organization is sub-divided into Regions (18 worldwide), and those Regions are in turn sub-divided into Divisions. It is at the Division level that interactions take place between an individual member and the entire NMRA organization.

What's in a Name? 
The National Model Railroad Association (NMRA) has named all the local NMRA groups, "Divisions". While it is tempting to call our NMRA group in San Diego, a model railroad club, or just the club, that terminology doesn't quite fit. The reason is, a model railroad club is where their organization has its own a permanent model train layout, usually in a rented or owned public business-type building. NMRA local Divisions usually do not own permanent layouts. NMRA Divisions hold meetings and events throughout the year. The San Diego Division is a very active NMRA Division and holds monthly meetings. It is our members who typically own their own private model railroad layouts. We hope this explains why the San Diego Division is referred to as a Division and not a model railroad club (or a club)! 

San Diego Division Model Railroader Members
Our members are very active in the model train hobby in San Diego. Some of our members belong to model train clubs, some have their own model railroads and some do both. There are three types of model railroaders in this scale train hobby. People who like to run model trains, model train modelers and model train collectors. Many model railroaders participate in all of these activities. There is a wide range of model train skill levels in the San Diego Division.

In addition, many of our members participate in Operations Sessions here in San Diego. Many of our members have their own Operations Sessions at their home model train layout and many participate in their club's Operations Sessions. Operations Sessions are when you operate your model train layout like a real railroad. Operations Sessions keeps the interest and fun in the model train hobby for your entire life. If you are looking to meet and be part of an organization with active and experienced model railroaders, the San Diego Division might be the right place for you to join.

Please note: The San Diego Division does not have a dedicated physical meeting place or office. Each month, we meet at various locations throughout San Diego County. With the exception of during a pandemic, we hold virtual meetings. All photos on our website credit: The San Diego Division, National Model Railroad Association.