Harry Huckemeyer
Now that all the holiday festivities have passed, and our New Year’s resolutions are behind us, we all have the opportunity for a fresh start. For the Short Line Model Railroad Club, the present time is the time for planning, and we will hopefully continue to participate in a number of events, both locally and in other areas of the Valley, throughout the upcoming year. New technologies have allowed us, as a club, to stay current with the newer products as they become available and, additionally, become more mobile, allowing us to move things around to a number of events, both locally and outside of 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 hands-on time showing not only their talents, but also their creativity. It also allows us, as a club, to travel to other areas, bringing with us layouts as large as 22 feet to ones that can be almost placed on a card table. In addition to that, 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 up until May, with two of these meetings being of a social nature for member appreciation. We hold our meetings in the Lakeview Room at 9:30 a.m. on the first Saturday of the month. This is located on the lower level of the SunBird Community Center. On the upper level of this building, there also is a restaurant where you can have a quick cup of coffee or a full breakfast. For any additional information, you can contact us at [email protected] or, if you prefer, text us at 480-600-1349. If texting, please leave a phone number where you can be reached.