ABOUT US
Our Railroad
Click diagram to enlarge, pdf file
Our railroad is HO scale with 30" radius being the tightest curve. The layout is 16' wide by 80' long and has about 2,500 feet of track. We operate with DCC with detection. The area in green is new for 2012
Our Beginnings
The Club known as the Coachella Valley Model Railroaders is a club for promoting the hobby of model railroading in the Coachella Valley.
This was to be accomplished through the construction of a premier display layout having prototypical train operations and scenic details familiar to the United States.
The layout was to be HO scale and be many times larger than feasible for a home layout.
In 1984 the two founding members pooled their financial resources and immediately began to construct the first display to commemorate the 50th year of the National Model Railroad Association. This display was placed in the Westfield Mall (formally Palm Desert Town Center Shopping Mall) for a two day show, from this display we met additional people with our same interests of model railroading.
The Coachella Valley Model Railroaders was formed in 1985 by five model railroaders as an informal group who desired to share their knowledge and experiences.
Warren Tribett, Bill Casper, Jim Hundley, Dick Holman, Bob Brand
The main thrust of the group at that time was to help fellow members in the construction of their home layouts. Once a week for the price of coffee and cookies the hosts layout would hear the sounds of drills and the buzz of saws as his layout quickly grew before his eyes.
It was not all work for time could always be found to admire a new steam locomotive or a weathered boxcar. The first real project the club tackled was to build a modular layout to be displayed and ran at the Westfield Mall (formally Palm Desert Town Center Shopping Mall). This first effort was done on time and with the diligent efforts of the members in keeping the display operating through the Christmas Season, it was well received by the mall customers. This showing also provided exposure to other desert modelers and the membership began to grow.
The building of the various home layouts continued as did the expansion of the Clubs Modular Railroad. Each year the Christmas Shoppers at the Mall were greeted by an ever larger and more detailed operating railroad. In 1989 an agreement was reached with the Riverside County Fair National Date Festival to be included as an exhibit. After the show at the Mall the layout was moved to the Fairgrounds and installed in the north end of the Crafts and Hobbies building (formally Home Arts Building). The Modules were further expanded so that the layout ran the full width of the buildings north wall and twenty feet down the west wall. Again The exhibit was a great success with club receiving complements from both the viewing public as well as the Fair Personnel.
The result of this first Fair Exhibit was that we now had a home year around in the Crafts and Hobbies building (formally Home Arts Building). The following months saw what looked like total mayhem as the old modular layout was dismantled and a new larger permanent railroad was constructed in the center of the north end of the Crafts and Hobbies building (formally Home Arts Building).
The building of this layout was unusual in that each member chose a piece of the layout and erected what he wished in that area. So we had a Three Ring Circus complete with sideshow on one end and elaborate industrial switching yard on the other with several yards, siding, towns and villages scattered in between with vast canyons spanned by mighty bridges connecting it all. For the first season of our new Railroad we ran what is called a double dogleg layout around the large U shape that was built. A good operator could keep up to five trains going at once as long as they all went the same direction.
The Coachella Valley Model Railroaders is anything but static. Each year the main layout has expanded and grown with the new additions such as DCC. The changing of the track design was to allow two-way running was one of the greater changes to take place. Every year sees new things in place to entice the visitor to come and see us. And come and see us they do. The Club is one of the main attractions during the fair with question and answer sheets that sometimes put the members on their mettle to answer them. Often times it may be an old gentleman and his wife from whom the layout elicits a fond memory of some long past job or pleasure.
The Coachella Valley Model Railroaders is an active community group with an interest in railroading and model building and we invite any person of good moral character to join the Club and enjoy the friendly people who are the Coachella Valley Model Railroaders.
Our Club
The Club currently has 38 regular members from all
occupations.
Retired people, swimming pool contractors, carpenters, electricians, law
enforcement, engineers,
doctors, photographers, pilots, and so on.
Membership is open to anyone with an active interest
in railroads and modeling.
The level of experience ranges from armchair modelers, to novices, to
experts.
For most of us, the fun is in the learning.
To become a regular member, you must:
Be at least 18 years of age
Complete a membership application
Complete a 4-month probationary period
Pay a one time $100 membership fee
and the $100 yearly dues
Be approved by the members
The rules of the club
1. Do
not work/repair your train on or inside the layout...we have a work bench set
aside for this function.
2. NEVER
attempt to “program” your engine on the layout...again, use the work bench area
for this.
3. Use
switch machine toggle switches on control boards or move
switches not electrically controlled by using the
draw bar...DO NOT “flick” the points of the rails with your fingers...this
causes more problems.
4. Don’t
leave boxes or other items laying on the tables. The tables are there to use for
unloading trains from storage boxes, which should be placed under the layout or placed back in the caboose or cattle car storage.
5. No
food or drinks inside the layout...this causes a mess when spilled. Keep the
layout clean please.
6. Check
your engines and rolling stock BEFORE placing them on the layout.
If your having issues, please remove all equipment
so others can continue operating while you use the work bench to correct your
problem.
7. All
rolling stock MUST have steel wheels.
Plastic wheels create dirty rail problems.
8. We
would like to see your trains last car have an EOT or lighted car or resistance
wheels so our track detection will see it.
9. Help
keep the building and bathrooms clean. Pick up any trash you see and dispose in
proper waste can.
Our Meetings
The Coachella Valley Model Railroaders
meets most Wednesday evenings about 6:30 P.M. and on Saturdays around 1:00 P.M. at the club on the
Riverside County Fair National Date Festival Fairgrounds in Indio.
We hold open houses on the 2nd Saturday of March and November from 10 AM-2 PM
We hold our annual membership meeting along
with our election of officers on the first Wednesday in December.
Visitors are always welcome on any meeting or session night.
The Club has formal By-Laws and elected
officers, but we work to keep the atmosphere informal.
Getting Started
How do you get started?
How do you learn it all?
There are a number of magazines and videos dedicated
to model railroading,
as well as how to books on every facet of the hobby.
You can find them at most hobby stores.
Visit a hobby shop specializing in model
railroading.
Look around.
You will be amazed at what you can find.
Since you learn more by doing than any other
way,
the real secret to getting started is to just jump in and get your feet
wet.
Club membership can also help
you can learn from the experiences of others.
Model railroading is a hobby for the whole
family,
and one that you can enjoy at home or as a member of a Club.
Information
How do you learn it all?
as well as how to books on every facet of the hobby.
You can find them at most hobby stores.
Look around.
You will be amazed at what you can find.
the real secret to getting started is to just jump in and get your feet wet.
Club membership can also help
you can learn from the experiences of others.
and one that you can enjoy at home or as a member of a Club.
Mailing address only:
Coachella Valley Model Railroaders43714 Commanche St.
Indio, CA 92203-2630
Jim@cvmrr.com
Richard Blackwell, President
Ski Gruzalski, Vice President
Ralph Butcher, Vice President
Jim Hundley, Secretary/Treasurer