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, August 9, 2025 - Summer Meet

Summer Meet: For our August Meet, we will have a swap meet, pot luck lunch and a special scenery clinic.

• Date: Saturday, August 9, 2025.
  
• Time: 9:00 a.m.–3 p.m. 
  • Swap Meet: 9:00 a.m.–noon
  • Pot Luck: Noon–1 p.m.
  • San Diego Scenery Special Clinic: 1 p.m.–3 p.m.
• Location: Hope Lutheran Church, 6749 Tait St, San Diego, California 92111. The church is located in Linda Vista. Linda Vista is located north of the Fashion Valley Mall. 
• Swap Meet: 9:00 a.m. to noon. The Swap Meet is completely free for both buyers and sellers. The tables are free and the Division will not be taking any percentage from your sales.
• Lunch: Pot luck. 
  • Last names starting with N-Z are asked to bring a side dish or dessert.
  • Last names starting with A-M are asked to bring a main dish.
• San Diego Scenery Special Clinic: This clinic is free to all San Diego Division members. All materials will be provided by the Division.You do not need to bring anything. There will be five stations that each member will participate in.
  • Clinic Station 1: Streets. By Don Fowler.
  • Clinic Station 2: Rocks. By Rodger Gredvig.
  • Clinic Station 3: Trees. By Gary Robinson.
  • Clinic Station 4: Ground Cover. By Trudy Seeley.
  • Clinic Station 5: Water. By Kim Fowler.
• Accessible: Yes, the facility is accessible.
• Masks: Not required.
• 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.

If you are thinking about hosting a model railroad layout tour for San Diego Division members for 2026, please contact the webmaster. We already have three model railroad layout tours booked for 2026.

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 Pacific Southwest Region 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. National Model Railroad Association Divisions hold meetings and events throughout the year. The San Diego Division is a very active National Model Railroad Association 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.