Harry Huckemeyer

Now that all the holiday festivities of the previous year have passed and our New Year’s resolutions are behind us, we all have the opportunity to look ahead for a fresh start. For the Short Line Model Railroad Club, January is the time for planning, and we will hopefully continue to participate in a number of events throughout the year, both locally and in other areas of the Valley. Constantly changing technologies have allowed us as a club to stay current with the newer products as they become available and, additionally, going modular has allowed us to become more mobile. This allows us the opportunity to move things around to participate at a number of events each year, both locally and outside the area.

Our club always welcomes those who may have an interest in model railroading or are just looking for something of interest to spend some quality time with. We always have room for those who may want to get involved, and there are several new benefits that you may want to inquire about. We currently are heavily involved in the use of modular units that make up our finalized layouts. This allows all our members to have a lot of individual hands-on time showing not only their talents, but also their creativity. It also allows us as a club to travel to other areas and bring with us layouts as large as the space that is allowed to us, or one that can be placed on a card table. In addition to that (and many thanks to the support of one of the local HOAs), we now are able to have available to our club a monthly workshop, which we can use as a test bed and a work area available to all members where they can build or make adjustments to their individual products.

Our club meets on a monthly basis from September through May, with two of these meetings being of a social nature for member appreciation that is open to all members and invited guests. We hold our meetings and have our workshops in one of the Arts & Crafts Rooms located in Oakwood on the second Saturday of the month starting at 1 p.m. Additionally, for years now, several of our members have been meeting for lunch on Fridays at noon where it’s always a good time to catch up on things and enjoy some interesting conversations.

Last year was one of our best years yet, being invited to participate in a nice number of events around the Valley and also here locally. For any additional information regarding our club, feel free to reach out to us. You can contact us at [email protected] or, if you prefer, text us at 480-600-1349. If texting, please always leave a number at which you can be reached.

We’re looking forward to a fun new year and the opportunity to meet up with friends, both old and new, at our upcoming events.