2026 Meets and Events

About Our Meets and Events

The San Diego Division holds monthly meetings and events every month, every second Saturday of the month and held at various times and locations. For your information, instead of naming our meetings, "Meetings", we call them "Meets".

• Our Meets and Events include private model railroad layout tours, quarterly Meets and other events. Our quarterly Meets (held February, May, August and November) can include Clinics, Show & Tell, Silent Auctions, Hobo Auctions, contests, swap meets, Bingo for Trains, raffles, door prizes and food.
• To learn more about the San Diego Division, please feel free to attend one of our Meets or Events as a guest by contacting Rudy Spano, Membership Services, at (858) 761-1424, or email Rudy at membership.
  • Please provide Rudy with your first name, last name and your phone number to be a guest at one of our events. Or to join the San Diego Division, please call Rudy by phone or by email and he will assist you.
• You may also join the National Model Railroad Association on your own and the San Diego Division will be notified of your new membership status. The National Model Railroad Association has an introductory membership offer good for nine months, for $19.95 and it is called the Rail Pass.
• We welcome all National Model Railroad Association members from the Pacific Southwest Region or any other region in the world to attend any of our Meets or Events.

Meets and Events for 2026

Note: 

All model railroad layout tours have been booked for 2026.

April 11, 2026, Saturday -

Model Railroad Layout Tour.

Layout Tour: Joel Shank has two model railroad layout tours for April 2026 in the Brawley, California area. One railroad is the Rio Grande Southern Railroad narrow gauge Sn3 scale 32' X33' museum quality layout which is located in a 1,500 square foot air conditioned building. The other model railroad layout is a HO scale railroad and is located in an air conditioned intermodal container. This will be a very fun-filled and exciting model railroad hobby day. It will be worth it to plan now for this model railroad tour in advance, so you don't miss it.

• Date: Saturday, April 11, 2026.
  
• Time: 11 a.m. -3 p.m. (or later).
  
• Location: Joel Shank lives in Brawley, California which is east of San Diego. It is a two hour drive, one-way, from San Diego to Brawley. Joel's address will be provided to San Diego Division members through email, two days prior to the layout tour.
• RSVP: Please RSVP to the webmaster  () let the restaurant know how many people to expect.
• Carpooling: If you are looking for someone to carpool with, please contact the webmaster  () and to arrange carpools. With gas prices so high, please be sure to give cash to the driver.
• Carpooling Update: As of Thursday, April 2, 2026, we have eight people carpooling in three cars, that we know about. There could be more people traveling together that have not informed the San Diego Division which is fine. If you want to try to be part of a car pool but don't know who to contact, please contact the San Diego Division Webmaster and he will try to help you connect with other model railroaders traveling to Brawley. We hope to see you there.
• Lunch: 11:00 a.m. Lunch is at Brownies Diner and it is located at 990 Main Street, Brawley, California 92227. The cross street is S. Cezar Chevaz Street. We will meet for lunch at 11:00 a.m. This will allow us to stretch our legs from the drive from San Diego to Brawley, eat a nice lunch, have a few laughs and then use the facilities before proceeding to the model railroad layout tours.
  
• Layout Tour Time: Approximately 12:30 p.m.
• Leaving Brawely: We will be leaving Brawley at approximately 3:00 p.m. and arriving back into San Diego around 5:00 p.m. If you railfan, then you'll get back into San Diego at a later time.
• Rail Fanning: There are also some good opportunities to railfan before and/or after the layout tours. There are several areas to railfan, including standard gauge and narrow gauge railroads that are located in the Brawley area.
  
• Parking: There is on street parking and you'll enter the property through the driveway.
• Accessible: To be determined.
  
• Masks: Not required.

More about Joel's model railroad: Rio Grande Southern Railroad narrow gauge modeling between Rico and Ridgway, Colorado, USA. The prototypical railroad's era is September 1939, give or take a few months depending upon the Operations Session. In 1952, the railroad went out of business.

The narrow gauge railroad primarily served the mining industry, mining gold and silver. Mines are not modeled. The industries on the railroad include a Pro Patria Mill (in Rico, Colorado), stock bins, coal facilities and oil distributors.

Ninety percent of the buildings are scratch built and the area modeled in Colorado is a very rugged area of terrain.

• The size of the layout is 32' X 33' located inside a 1,500 square foot in an air conditioned building. The railroad was started in 1990 and the layout is finished.
• The scenes on the railroad have actually been recreated from pictures of the area.
  The stations on the railroad are Placerville, Vance Junction, Ophier and Coke Ovens (in Colorado, USA). Rico has a railroad yard and Ridgway railroad yard and a staging yard.
• Bud Smith and Joel are the two who built the railroad. Bud Smith is the artist talent and Joel is the engineer and technical director. The layout has slightly over 3,000 trees and Bud built about 90% of the trees. The entire layout has hand-laid track. The lowest elevation modeled on the railroad is over 5,000 feet and the highest elevation just under 10,000 feet.
• The railroad was designed for Operations Sessions and typically uses four people during an Operations Session. The layout is a point to point railroad. Operations Sessions occur four times a year and only Sn3 modelers attend. About four people are needed for Operations Sessions. One crew starts at one end, the other crew starts at the other end and meets at Vance Junction.
• To control the locomotives Joel uses NCE with DCC & Sound equipped locomotives. The locomotives are P-B-L sound equipped with TCS Wow Sound decoders. The model train building has the layout room, a crew lounge, a work shop, a small kitchen and a bathroom.

May 9, 2026, Saturday -

 Spring Meet.

Spring Meet: The events for the Spring Meet are not determined yet. 

• Date: Saturday, May 9, 2026.
  
• Time: To be determined
• Location: San Diego County.
  
• Parking: To be determined
• Accessible: Yes, the facility is accessible.
• Masks: Not required.
• Carpooling: Carpool with a friend to help take the sting out of gas prices.

June 13, 2026, Saturday -

Model Railroad Layout Tour.

Layout Tour: Dick Roberts will be hosting the model railroad layout tour.

• Date: Saturday, June 13, 2026.
  
• Time: To be determined
• Location: San Diego County.
  
• Parking: To be determined
• Accessible: To be determined.
• Masks: Not required.
• Carpooling: Carpool with a friend to help take the sting out of gas prices.

July 11, 2026, Saturday -

Model Railroad Layout Tour.

Layout Tour: Shotgun Tom Kelly will be hosting the model railroad layout tour.

• Date: Saturday, July 11, 2026.
  
• Time: To be determined
• Location: San Diego County.
  
• Parking: To be determined
• Accessible: To be determined.
• Masks: Not required.
• Carpooling: Carpool with a friend to help take the sting out of gas prices.

August 8, 2026, Saturday -

 Summer Meet.

Layout Tour: The Summer Meet events are to be determined.

• Date: Saturday, August, 2026.
  
• Time: To be determined
• Location: San Diego County.
  
• Parking: To be determined
• Accessible: To be determined.
• Masks: Not required.
• Carpooling: Carpool with a friend to help take the sting out of gas prices.

September, 2026, Saturday -

 Pacific Southwest Region Model Train Convention.

Layout Tour: The September Pacific Southwest Region Model Train Convention is currently being planned.

• Dates: September 2026.
  
• Time: To be determined
• Location: Double Tree by Hilton Hotel San Diego in the Hazard Center Mall located in Mission Valley. 
• Parking: The hotel has paid parking and you can also park in the Hazard Center Mall parking lot at no charge.
• Accessible: The facility is accessible.
• Masks: Not required.
• Carpooling: Carpool with a friend to help take the sting out of gas prices.

October 10, 2026, Saturday -

Model Railroad Layout Tour.

Layout Tour: Chula Vista Live Steamers will be hosting the model railroad layout tour. This club had rideable miniature trains.

• Date: Saturday, July 11, 2026.
  
• Time: To be determined
• Location: San Diego County.
  
• Parking: To be determined
• Accessible: To be determined.
• Masks: Not required.
• Carpooling: Carpool with a friend to help take the sting out of gas prices.

November 14, 2026, Saturday -

 Fall Meet.

Layout Tour: The Fall Meet events have not been planned at this time. October 2026 model railroad layout tour is open. Please contact the webmaster if you want to host a model railroad layout for October 2026.

• Date: Saturday, November 14, 2026.
  
• Time: To be determined
• Location: San Diego Model Railroad Museum.
• Parking: To be determined
• Accessible: To be determined.
• Masks: Not required.
• Carpooling: Carpool with a friend to help take the sting out of gas prices.

December 12, 2026, Saturday -

 Holiday Party.

Layout Tour: The December Holiday party has not been planned at this time. There will be a model railroad layout tour before the Holiday Party. We will be eating at Jimmy's Restaurant in Santee.

• Date: Saturday, December 12, 2026.
  
• Time: To be determined
• Model Railroad Layout Tour: Wayne Pierce's On30 Minieton Railroad & Lumber Co. model railroad.
• Holiday Party and Dinner location: Jimmy's Restaurant in Santee.
  
• Parking: To be determined
• Accessible: The model railroad is not accessible. Jimmy's Restaurant is accessible.
• Masks: Not required.
• Carpooling: Carpool with a friend to help take the sting out of gas prices.

Past 2026 Meets and Events

January 10, 2026, Saturday - Model Railroad Layout Tour. 

Layout Tour: The January 2026 model railroad layout tour will be hosted by Rudy Spano. We are very pleased to have Rudy showcase his Crystal River and San Juan Railroad HO and HOn3 scale model railroad layout.

The Crystal River Railroad was a coal company and the San Juan Railroad was a marble company. Both of these railroads were located in the beautiful area of Crystal River Valley of Colorado in the era of 1900-1909.

• Date: Saturday, January 10, 2026.
  
• Time:  Noon–2 p.m.
• Location: San Diego County. The address for the model railroad layout will be emailed to San Diego Division members about two week prior to the event, then once again about two days before the event.
• Parking: There is on street parking.
• Accessible: Unfortunately, the model railroad layout is not accessible.
• Masks: Not required.
• Carpooling: Carpool with a friend to help take the sting out of gas prices.

More About Rudy And His Layout
Rudy’s love affair with the beauty and history of the Crystal River Valley in Colorado began with his first visit in the 1970s. His efforts to recreate the standard gauge line south out of Carbondale to Redstone, the narrow gauge Highline up to Coal Basin and the standard gauge line from Redstone to the town of Marble began in 2013. 

Coal Basin was the location of a coal mine, Redstone was the site of the coking operations and Marble was the location of the Marble Quarry and Mill. This is where marble came from for the Lincoln Memorial and for the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. It has been said that this marble quarry produces some of the best marble, if not the best marble in the world. The marble from this area in Colorado has been described as gigantic, remarkable, flawless and immense. While there have been times the mine was closed, it is quarry is open today under another company's name.

The layout is steam only with two point to point lines as were the original railroads. The layout is operated using CVP Easy DCC. The scenery and structures are in various stages of completion with almost all trackwork done. Rudy has built the benchwork, installed all the electrical wiring, made the scenery and buildings. There are very little actual rail car kits and buildings to match the prototype.

The Stations Include:

• Carbondale (standard gauge)
• Janeway (standard gauge)
• Redstone (standard gauge)
• Coalbasin (narrow gauge)
• Placita (narrow gauge)
• Medio (narrow gauge)
• Marble (narrow gauge)

To recreate the railroad, Rudy took many pictures of the area in the 1970s, had them developed and has made the photos into reference 3-ring binders and uses them to build structures, scenery, track, bridges, rail cars and more.

Rudy also have has several books that he uses to reference to accurately model steam locomotives, rail cars, structures and scenery.

He uses several reference books. The one book Rudy owns is titled, "The Crystal River Pictorial" by Deli McCoy and Russ Collman, January 1, 2972. The title "The Crystal River Pictorial" has quotes in the title of the front cover of the book.

The other two books Rudy owns are titled, Marble. A Town Built on Dreams, Volume 1 & 2 by Oscar McCollum Jr. Volume 1 is dated January 1, 1992. Volume 2 is dated January 1, 1993.

Rudy also owns a map that is displayed on his wall called the Colorado Railroad Map published by the Colorado Railroad Museum, 17155 West 44th Avenue, Post Office Box 10, Golden, Colorado, 80402. The copyright of the map is from 1969-2009 by the Colorado Railroad Historical Foundation, Inc. The map covers all known Colorado railroads and electric railways, both operating and abandoned.

As of today, all buildings in the Crystal River Valley from 1909 are all gone. 

Rudy is an avid model railroader and has put considerable time and effort into his layout and your participation would be greatly appreciated. Events like these are a great opportunity to learn, share ideas and enjoy the work of our fellow model railroaders.

Follow-up: We had a whopping 34 people attend Rudy's model railroad layout tour!! This was a highly attended model railroad layout tour and everyone had a good time talking with each other, talking to Rudy and enjoying Rudy's expert modeling. Rudy and his wife generously opened their home to everyone at the San Diego Division and in addition, provided drinks and snacks for everyone. It was a beautiful sunny Southern California day.

February 14, 2026, Saturday -

 Winter Meet.

Winter Meet: Our past event details will be added shortly.

• Date: Saturday, February 14, 2026.
  
• Time: 9:00 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• Location: San Diego County.
  
• Parking: There is plenty of parking at the museum.
• Accessible: Yes, the facility is accessible.
• Masks: Not required.
• Carpooling: Carpool with a friend to help take the sting out of gas prices.

March 14, 2026, Saturday -

Model Railroad Layout Tour.

Layout Tour: Chuck Molnar will be providing a model railroad layout tour for the Pacific Southwest Region Model Train Convention The Pacific Southwest Express attendees and for all San Diego Division members not attending The Pacific Southwest Express convention.

Chuck models a HOn3 scale prototypical portion of the narrow-gauge line of the Rio Grande Southern Railroad, from Ridgway to Rico. At the time, the real railroad served the towns of Durango to Ridgway, in Colorado, USA.

If you missed seeing Chuck's model railroad layout in 2024, this would be an excellent opportunity to see his amazing model railroad.

• Date: Saturday, March 14, 2026
• Time: 10:00 a.m. to 3 p.m. (Spend all day if you want and bring a bag lunch and drinks!)
• Location: San Diego County.
  
• Parking: There is on-street parking.
  
• Accessible: The model railroad layout is not accessible.
• Masks: Not required.
• Carpooling: Carpool with a friend to help take the sting out of gas prices.
• More about Chuck and his model railroad layout.
  • An Avid Modeler. Chuck started in the hobby when he was eight and has made about a half a dozen layouts in his lifetime. It is interesting to note that Chuck has built everything on his current model railroad layout. This includes but is not an inclusive list, from building the benchwork, electrical systems, scenery, roads, buildings, trestles, track, switches, painting, trees and weathering. All the trestles on the railroad were designed by Chuck and were hand-built. All the buildings are made from kits, are kit-bashed, scratch built or made using board-by-board kits. Chuck is continually upgrading his railroad with new structures, track work and more.
  • The Concept: The Rio Grande Southern was known as one of the most rugged and iconic narrow-gauge mountain railroads in United States. The railroad was located in Southwestern Colorado.
    • The railroad began construction in 1890 and was completed in two years on December 12, 1891. Construction of the railroad started at both ends of the railroad at the cities of Ridgway and Durango.
    • The railroad spanned approximately 162 miles and went over four mountain passes on steep grades.
    • There were numerous industry spurs and had four notable branch lines on the railroad.
    • The railroad ended operations by the end of 1951, applied for abandonment in April 1952 and the scrapping of the railroad's equipment was officially finished on March 21, 1953.
  • Main Reference Books: The main reference books that Chuck uses for his railroad are 1) The R.G.S. Story: Rio Grande Southern - Vol. I-XII., Collman, Russ, and Dell A. McCoy, Sundance Publications and 2) The Silver San Juan, The Rio Grande Southern, Mallory Hope Ferrell, Pruett Publishing Co.
  • Name Of The Railroad: The name of Chuck's railroad is the Rio Grande Southern.
  • The Scale: The railroad is a HOn3 scale narrow-gauge model railroad.
    
  • The Making Of: The initial planning of Chuck's Rio Grande Southern began in 1997. Major benchwork was also started in 1997 and progressed over several years. The layout began in Carlsbad in a family home, in a three car garage. The layout was then cut into sections and put into storage for several months in 2005.
    • Later, the layout was moved to a new location near the coast and then reassembled in a purpose-built free-standing building for his railroad and modeling. The total area of the building is 26' X 24' (feet) including the model train workshop. The size of the layout is 18' X 20', the aisles are 2' X 6' and the workshop is an area of 8' X 13'.
    • Interestingly, very little damage was done to the layout during the move because the benchwork was strengthened before the move. In 2006, major work was restarted by putting the sections back together, making the layout slightly bigger than it was in Carlsbad and then improving the electrical work. The layout, in terms of all the track work and scenery, was finished in 2021. As of 2024, the model railroad layout is about 95% complete.

  

  • The Era and Cities: The era of the layout is between 1890-1953. The part of the Rio Grande Southern he models is from Ridgway to Rico. The towns he models on his railroad include Ridgway, Placerville, Ophir and Rico. There are multiple types of structures and are based prototype pictures in the railroad history books. There are also mountain ranges, rivers, creeks, lakes, trestles, trees and other scenery on the model railroad. Name plates of locations and even elevation are located throughout the fascia of the benchwork.
  • Track Work: Please note that all the track and switches are hand-laid using Fast Track jigs and tools. For the track work, Chuck used Micro Engineering rails and spikes. The ties were purchased from the Mt. Albert Scale Lumber Company located in Canada.
    
  • Powering The Locomotives: The layout is designed for walk around control using DCC & Sound using NCE Pro Cabs. (Editor's note. All of Chuck's steam locomotives have sound and working LED lighting. Not only are the front lights working but back-up LED lights installed on the tenders are working, that is, if the prototype had a back-up light.)
    
  • Operation Sessions: The railroad has been made for Operations Sessions. The exact details of his Operations Sessions are still in the planning for Chuck's model railroad layout.
    
  • Webmaster Note 1: Ash Pit. Chuck recently added an ash pit under one section of the railroad tracks. Can you can find this new addition to his railroad? How many model railroaders that you know, have modeled an ash pit for steam locomotives? Have you ever seen a model railroad club that models an ash pit?  
    • For Chuck to add this one new scene to his model railroad layout, it took many hours to accomplish this. Not only did he have to dig into the base of his layout but then had to tear out the track and replace new track afterwards. Please remember to ask Chuck about how complicated it was to add this one small scene.
    • For those model railroaders who love the steam era of the railroad, this is something to think about adding to their own model railroad. This is a very nice prototypical detail and scene.
      
  • Webmaster Note 2: HO Scale Railroad. Chuck also models in HO scale. He recently added HO scale track under his benchwork so that he can run his HO scale trains. Remember to look under his benchwork for a second model railroad layout. 
  • Webmaster Note 3: This Is A Model Railroad Layout Tour We Hope You Won't Miss. Chuck has provided previous layout tours for the San Diego Division in June 2022 and September 2024. Since then, he has made many upgrades to his model railroad layout, including adding new structures and adding new track.
    • Chuck is very active in the model railroad hobby and is also continuing to make resin kit rail cars as well. This will be an excellent opportunity for you to see his better-than-museum quality model railroad layout.
    • This will also be an excellent time to ask Chuck any questions you have about his layout, about modeling and about the model railroad hobby. 
    • Please mark your calendars for Saturday, September 6, 2025.
• Carpooling: Help take the sting out of high gas prices and carpool with a friend.
• Follow-Up: And once again, wow!!! We had a total of 17 people attend the model railroad layout tour and everyone enjoyed spending time with Chuck and talking with other model railroaders. It was a beautiful sunny Southern California day in Del Mar.

Note: Pacific Daylight Time starts March 8, 2026 and Pacific Standard Time starts November 1, 2026. In the USA, in general, Daylight Time starts the second Sunday of March and Standard Time begins the first Sunday in November. In Europe, summer time begins the last Sunday of March and ends on the last Sunday in October.

We do not have a physical office, permanent meeting room or layout. Each month, we meet at various locations throughout San Diego County. With the exception of during a pandemic, we hold virtual meetings.

[Covid-19 and other pandemic Information: Our Division provided virtual Meets during the Covid pandemic of 2020 and during the first half of 2021. Our in-person Meets started back in August 2021. If another pandemic occurs, we will keep you informed on the status of all our meetings. In the meantime, masks are optional at all our in-person Meets and Events for this year, unless otherwise noted due or when required by state or federal law.]