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Model Railroading Near Washington, DC
Model Railroading Interesting and Useful Information
Made in the Potomac Division — Local Model Railroading Companies
Fallen Flags in and around Washington, DC
Operating in and around Washington, DC
The Potomac Module
Crew (PMC) consists of members of the Potomac Division
who have an interest in HO modular model railroading. A module is a
section of a model railroad built to a minimal standard set of
dimensions, track locations, and electrical connections. The type of
scenery display is left to the imagination and creativity of the
builder. The scene on a module can be rural or industrial,
agricultural or urban, mountainous or prairie-like, or any
combination. The time period model is also left to the modeler. The
use of modules allows a modeler the opportunity to create a section
of railroad without a major investment of time, space or money. A
module is also easy to transport and store when not in use. 
Northern
Virginia NTRAK promotes the hobby of N-Scale Model
Railroading. Member’s interests include railroad operations, history
and safety, writing and photography, as well as model building.
Throughout the year, the organization sets up at railroad shows and
shopping malls throughout the Metropolitan area. The layouts are
flexible and their modular nature allows the layout to be tailored
to fit the available space. These setups allow members to run
realistic- length trains over long stretches of varied scenery,
something that is not usually possible on home layouts.
The Northern Virginia Model Railroaders (NVMR) is a HO
scale model railroad layout, that is on permanent display at the
Vienna station. The club models a small railroad, the Western North
Carolina, set in the 1950's. The club hosts open houses, 10 times a
year, where the public is welcome to come and see trains running.
The Four County Society of
Model Engineers is a not-for-profit HO scale modular
railroad club dedicated to advancing our skills and enjoyment of
the hobby. We are located in Central Maryland, mainly Carroll,
Howard, Frederick and Montgomery Counties, but also with members
in surrounding areas. 
The Rockville Model
Railroad Society (RMRS) was founded in
2004 in Rockville, MD by the merging of the
Gaithersburg Model Railroad Society and the
Maryland Central Model Railroad club. We are
currently occupying space in the King Farm area of
Rockville, in the old King Farm Homestead. We have
a diverse group, modeling in all popular scales
from G to Z. Open a new window at the Severna Park site.
The
Washington, Virginia, & Maryland Garden Railway Society
(WVMGRS) is the largest and oldest Garden Railway
Society on the Eastern Coast. Members enjoy a variety of scales
associated with the Guage 0 and Guage 1, and share a passion for
small scale live steam locomotives. The WVMGRS participates in
many aspects of garden railroading in our community, including
display, meeting, show, and layout open house. 
The Train Room in Hagerstown, MD is the home of one of
the largest collections of rare and unusual items from Lionel
& model railroading, toys, war related items, etc. Much of the
collection pre-dates World War II. The museum houses one of the
largest operating O-gauge model railroad displays on the east
coast, with all the sights and sounds of the real thing ....and
tons of railroad memorabilia! 
Baltimore
Society of Model Engineers is undergoing a transition
while they look for a new permanent home. The club has relocated
to an interim location in the Woodberry neighborhood of
Baltimore. While searching for a new home, the club will be
constructing layouts in a sectional manner in HO and O scales,
with additional display layouts in N and Z scale possible. In
addition to building layouts plans are for monthly clinics
covering model techniques, layout planning and construction, and
railroad slide presentations. In addition plans are being made for
visiting home layouts in the area. Open a new
window at the Baltimore Society of Model Engineers site.
Augusta Co. Railroad Museum & Model RR Club —
Hosts the annual Harrisonburg area model railroad show, the first
Sunday in May. 
The Meade
Area Model Railroad Society - MARRS is a group of
model railroaders, collectors, and rail enthusiasts based in the
vicinity of Fort George G. Meade and the town of Laurel, Maryland
The Japan Rail Modelers (JRM) of Washington DC is a
loose group that focus on modeling Japanese rail systems. Our goal
is to support and encourage modeling of Japanese rail systems and
provide public education about the extensive Japanese railroads. 
The Harford
Associates for Railroad Modeling (HARM) is an informal
group meeting every Tuesday evening for the past 35 years. Members
live in or near Harford County, Maryland. Our objective is to
operate and construct member layouts. Scales range from N through
G. HARM members are active with the NMRA. Our site offers a
platform to share ideas to enhance the model railroading
experience. 
The National Model Railroad Association
(NMRA) is devoted to the development, promotion, and
enjoyment of the hobby of model railroading. It is people at the
national, regional and local level promoting the hobby, educating
people about it and working to insure that your trains and
equipment will work on other layouts. The NMRA member enjoys
participation in the Achievement Program; Photo, Slide and Model
Contests with fellow members; modelers Aid (ask a question);
directory of Information; glossary of terms; retailers network;
estate counseling (we may all need this some day); access to
Master Model Railroaders; and the most important fellowship of
other modelers.
The Mid-Eastern Region (MER) of
the NMRA includes the central states of the east
coast, from New Jersey to North Carolina. The purpose of your
MER is to promote, stimulate, foster and encourage the art and
craft of model railroading, to expand interest in and
publicizing the hobby of model railroading through publication
of the LOCAL six (6) times annually, and to sponsor a convention
or two each year. These conventions give MER members the
opportunity to network with other model railroaders without
traveling cross country.
North
American Model Shops Directory by Adrian Hall,
Providing a dedicated Directory for North American Model Railroad
enthusiasts.
November Model
Railroad Open Houses DE - MD - PA - NJ. Model Railroad Month Open House information site
Kalmbach
Model Railroad Event Calendar
To see the trains.com calendar, click on "All Events" in the left
column. This gives a filter where you can ask for events within so
many miles of your zip code. For example, putting in "20904"
(Silver Spring) for zip code and "100 miles" for Radius revealed
42 events within 100 miles between November 28, 2014 and March 15,
2015. For slightly further distances you will have to scan the
entire list, which at the time this was written had 264 events
listed nationally through October 29, 2017. For events more than
about 4 months away, you have to recheck the list periodically -
some groups are more organized and list their meets 4 to 5 months
in advance; others barely get listed a week ahead of the event.
RailServe.com
Model Railroad Event Calendar
DCC by Design provides
services & product to help layout owners implement a DCC
system tailored to their needs. The free information includes
several articles about starting with DCC. Services include DCC
system and wiring design, control panel design and assembly,
JMRI software customization, and mobile decoder installation.
Products offered include YardBoss, a locomotive and rolling st
management software which interfaces with JMRI, LocoBuffer USB
for connecting Digitrax systems to a computer, and numerous
kits, components and how to information.
Great Decals! produces prototype decals in N-
through O- scales with a focus on the Piedmont railroads.
Everything in our line started as someone's idea. Even if you don't model that area, the web site has something for you: a list of all the model railroad decal web sites we know about.
The Washington, DC Chapter of
the National Railroad Historical Society (NRHS) is
a diverse group of people with a common interest in rail
transportation and its rich and storied history that conducts
a wide variety of activities, including public excursions,
train trips, tours, as well as private railroad car journeys,
and monthly meetings. There are a wide variety of programs,
community service projects, rail equipment restoration and
operation, excursion train operations, community service
activities, historical research, photography contests, and
railfan outings.
The
Potomac Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society
(NRHS) is a group of railfans based in the National
Capital Area. We seek to increase public awareness of railroads
and their history. We meet the third Tuesday of every month at
8:00 PM in the Montgomery Country Executive Office building, 101
Monroe Street, Rockville, MD. We welcome visitors. Member benefits
include: interesting monthly meetings with guest speakers,
railroad- related film and slide shows; annual chapter picnic;
Potomac Rail News monthly newsletter; opportunities for rail
excursions and industry field trips; and opportunities to assist
at the Gaithersburg Railway Museum and local railroad heritage
celebrations.
Scratch the surface of the Washington
& Old Dominion (W&OD) Trail and you will find a
railroad -- quite literally in some places. Ask the older residents
of the towns along the trail, and they will tell you that they
remember it. Known as "The Virginia Creeper," in a reference to the
speed of its trains, the W&OD Railroad ended passenger service
in 1951, lost its contract to carry mail in 1951 and expired in
1968.
Throughout
its 160 years, the B&O Railroad enjoyed a rich and varied
corporate life. It was America's first common carrier railroad and
survived to become one of the world's oldest railroad companies. The
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Historical Society (B&ORRHS) exists
to help assemble, interpret and share that history. The B&O,
like railroading everywhere, touched virtually all areas of American
life. This diversity is reflected in the Society: members' interest
range from motive power and railroad architecture to modeling and
artifact collecting. Each year the B&ORRHS holds an Annual
Convention, with facility tours, workshops, photo and models shows,
displays, and the Annual Membership Meeting and Banquet. Two
regional mini-conferences are held annually in the spring in the
Baltimore area and in Ohio. 
Located among Baltimore
City's historic southwest neighborhoods, at the original site of
the historic Mt. Clare Shops, the B&O Railroad Museum
is recognized universally as the birthplace of American
railroading. Forty acres of heritage and a world class collection
await your discovery. In Association with the Smithsonian
Institution.
NMRA members receive a $2 discount off the regular admission
charge.
Ellicott
City B&O Railroad Station Museum. The old mill
town of Ellicott City was the site of the first passenger terminus
of the B&O Railroad and therefore has the distinction of being
the oldest railroad terminal in the country. Built in 1831, the
station was a hub for both commercial and Civil War trade. The
museum features rotating themes throughout the year: the Civil War
from February through May, the birth and development of the
B&O from May through September, and a holiday model train
exhibit from December through January.
The
National Capital Trolley Museum was founded after the
abandonment of streetcar service in the District of Columbia. The
Museum opened to the public in 1969 at its present location in
Northwest Branch Park in Montgomery County, Maryland. The Museum's
mission is to preserve and interpret the history of Washington's
electric street railways. The collections consist of 17 streetcars
from Washington D.C. and other cities. Many of these are operated
on a one-mile demonstration railway. In addition, there is an
O-scale model layout representing a Washington streetscape from
the 1930's, a film program, and traditional exhibits of street
railway artifacts and photographs.
The
Baltimore Streetcar Museum is dedicated to
preserving Baltimore's public transportation history, especially
the street railway era. Their collection is focused on
equipment that ran in Baltimore. 
The
Hagerstown Roundhouse Museum (HRM) is dedicated to
promoting a public understanding of the railroad history and
railroad related activites in the general area of Hagerstown,
Maryland through restroration, preservation, entertainment and
education.
The Brunswick Railroad Museum is
located in the heart of Historic Brunswick Maryland. The
museum offers a 1700 square foot interactive HO scale model
railroad layout, which depicts the B&O Railroad's
"Metropolitan Subdivision" from Washington DC's Union Station
platforms to Brunswick's large classification yards. The BRRM
also houses a large collection of artifacts from the last
century (and beyond) in exhibits telling the story of the city
of Brunswick, and the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad who built
it, and the C&O Canal National Historic Park Visitor
Center for the nearby historic site of Canal lock 30.
The Chesapeake Beach
Railway Museum in Chesapeake Beach, MD
commemorates the Chesapeake Beach Railway that served this
summer resort 28 miles from Washington, DC. Exhibits include
photographs of trains and the town, a model train, a diorama
of the resort, and a surviving kangaroo from the carousel.
The
mission of the Chesapeake and Ohio Historical Society
(C&OHS) is to collect, conserve, restore,
index, archive, and make available materials on the history of
the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway to as wide an audience as
possible. To interpret the American railway experience through
the Chesapeake & Ohio's historical experience, using data,
photographs, drawings, publications, small artifacts, and
full-size railroad rolling stock.
In
the 125 years of its operation as an independent railroad, the
Western Maryland built a reputation as a truly "Fast Freight
Line." From the laborers on the docks of Port Covington to the
top brass, Western Maryland people were noted for their skill
in the transportation field, and the pride that showed in
every aspect of their work. Today, the WM is a fond memory,
its remnants serving as an important link in the CSX
Transportation chain. Its memory survives, however, in the Western
Maryland Railway Historical Society, Inc.
Take a trip back in time . . .
on the Walkersville Southern, established in
1991 on the Frederick branch of the old Pennsylvania Railroad.
Come see our turn- of-the-century railroad station and freight
house. Ride in vintage 1920s passenger cars or on an open
flatcar as your rail excursion runs past a 100-year-old lime
kiln, and then out into the picturesque Maryland farm country.
The
Pennsylvania Railroad Technical and Historical Society
(PRRT&HS) brings together persons interested in
the history of the Pennsylvania Railroad, its subsidiaries and
its predecessor companies to promote the preservation and
recording of all information regarding the organization,
operation, facilities and equipment of the PRR. Publications
include The Keystone, a quarterly illustrated journal; the
monthly electronic newsletters Keystone e-NEWS and Keystone
Modeler. The PRRT&HS meets annually, usually the first
weekend in May. Activities include, field trips, illustrated
talks/lectures on various aspects of the PRR, general
discussion sessions, movies, and slides of the Pennsy.
The
Richmond, Fredericksburg, and Potomac Railroad was
a railroad connecting Richmond, Virginia to Washington, DC. It
is now a portion of the CSX Transportation system. The
RF&P was a bridge line, with a slogan of "Linking North
& South". (A bridge line has more traffic passing through
its connections with other railroads than it originates or
terminates at points along the line.) For the major portion of
its existence, the RF&P connected with the Atlantic Coast
Line Railroad and Seaboard Air Line Railroad at Richmond. At
Alexandria and through trackage rights to Union Station in
Washington, DC, connections were made with the Pennsylvania
Railroad, Baltimore and Ohio Railroad and the Southern
Railway.
Capital Free-mo is
an open group of model railroaders who construct,operate and
display an HO scale Free-mo modular layout at locations around
the Washington, DC area.The Chesapeake Beach Model Railroad Club - At the present some of us are meeting at the Chesapeake Beach Railway Museum in Chesapeake Beach, MD.,on Tuesday mornings working on the model railroad there. Call the museum to make sure we are there. Contact Larry Brown lbrown9601@verizon.net for further information.