The Redwood Empire
Garden Railway Society

An Outdoor Model Train Club
Serving the North Bay Communities
in Sonoma and Marin Counties

2014 REGRS OPEN HOUSE AND TRAIN SHOW CALENDAR

If you are interested in attending any of these events and would like an address, phone number, or driving directions, please contact the REGRS secretary, Ken Brody -- westie@sonic.net.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Sunday, June 29th, 2014

OPEN HOUSE AT THE EAST TENNESSEE AND WESTERN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA RAILROAD (ET&WNC RR)

with catherine and nagasiva yronwode

Our layout is a fictitious model of the steam-era ET&WNC in Tennessee and North Carolina which has been blended into a number of Northern California narrow gauge scenic routes. With about 300 feet of track, it is a compact, track-powered layout, running through and around two hills and several valleys underneath a redwood tree, a 1:1 scale cross buck signal with operational lights and bell, and a magnolia tree. There are hundreds of plants on the layout, and many buildings, vehicles, and figures, all based in the 1927-1941 era. With 2 tunnels, 6 iron bridges, and 4 wooden trestles (the longest of which is a 13-foot-long S-curve) the focus is on running trains, not on switching operations, and there are plenty of good locations for photography and videography. Industries include a gravel mine and rural agriculture. A small town, Three Bridges, serves the populace, and there is also a pleasant picnic area up atop Lookout Mountain at Rock City, overlooking Fern Gully and the town of Linville. We enjoy the creation of self-similar replications, so our actual barn and signal are reproduced in miniature on the layout.

We are, like many garden railroaders, a bit loose on scale, featuring 1:22.5 ET&WNC Bachmann Annie locomotives, Jackson-Sharp passenger cars, and freight cars; an entire consist of 1:29 USAT billboard reefer rolling stock, and 1:24 die cast autos and trucks. Our guideline is the "ten foot rule" and our desire is to have fun. Built on sharply sloping ground, the site is designed around a small rock bench and patio where we can sit, drink coffee, and work via wi-fi on our laptop computers.

We broke ground for the ET&WNC less than 6 months ago, and many helpers have contributed to the rapid development of the site. The original layout design, including rock work, was by Nancy Norris of GardenLines.net and Garden Railways Magazine. Layout expansion, construction of trestles, tunnels, hand-spiked track, rock work, and scratch-built buildings, roads, and fencing are all under the direction of Daniel Smith of DanielSmithRailroad.com in Prunedale, California. Don Herzog of Miniature Plant Kingdom in Occidental supplied -- and planted! -- almost all of the vegetation. Lighting and circuitry is by Eric Moe of MoeTrains.com, and Bo Maldonado has provided detailed scenic painting and rock work.

Our layout is open to the public during shop hours at the Lucky Mojo Curio Company (7 days a week, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM) and we run trains for the enjoyment of the public every Saturday and Sunday.

On Open House day we are supplying food and drinks and socializing with train folks. We can give you a tour of our shop, if you are interested, and also of "The Smallest Church in the World," which is located on our property. In addition, we can give you a visual tour of the new REGRS web site -- at REGRS.org -- which we are developing for the club! If you are a member of REGRS and have photos of your layout, we will tell you how to send them to us so that we can showcase as many of them as possible in the months to come.

Please feel free to bring your own trains to run, either battery or track power.

DRIVING DIRECTIONS:

We are located west of Santa Rosa in Sonoma County, California, on the premises of the Lucky Mojo Curio Company, a block and a half north of Highway 116 in the town of Forestville.

Our address is
6632 Covey Road
Forestville, California 95436
(707) 887-1521

Take California State Highway 101 to Santa Rosa, California.

From Santa Rosa, take Guerneville Road west to the end of the road at a 'T' intersection with Highway 116. Turn right (north) on Highway 116 and proceed to the town of Forestville.

As you enter Forestville, the road makes a sweeping uphill left-hander, and at the crest of the hill you'll see Carr's Drive-in on the right. This is the junction of Covey Road and 116.

Turn right (north) on Covey Road and pass between two churches (a large tan one on the left and a small white one on the right).

Cross Center Street and continue for one-half block and on your left you'll see a post with the number 6632 in white lettering on green tiles, atop a larger black-and white sign that reads, "Drive Slowly. Watch for Animals."

Enter the driveway, which is lined with rose bushes, apple trees, and fence posts on which there are nailed abalone shells. Drive by the "To The Trains" sign to the top of the hill and park by the big old barn, where an old yellow and black sign says "Customer Parking. Unauthorized Cars Will Be Towed Away." We have VERY LIMITED PARKING so if there is no place for you, park in one of the church parking lots in town or on Center Street, and walk in, please.

If you get lost, call the Lucky Mojo Curio Co. for help. The number is 707-667-1521.



Come aboard and join us!

The Redwood Empire Garden Railway Society is an informal outdoor railroad model club in Northern California. Our interests include:

REGRS-Contact To learn more about model railroading in the garden, meet our club members, arrange a visit to a member's garden train layout, attend one of our monthly meetings as a guest, talk model railroading with hobbyists and railroad model builders, or to join the REGRS as a member, please contact the Redwood Empire Garden Railway Society by sending an email to Ken Brody -- westie@sonic.net.

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