Carquinez Model Railroad Society Opens Doors April 11-12 in Crockett

The Carquinez Model Railroad Society throws open the doors of its 2,000-square-foot HO scale layout at 645 Loring Avenue in Crockett on Saturday, April 11 and Sunday, April 12, from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM each day. Admission is $5 per adult; children 16 and under get in free with an accompanying adult. The theme this time is Steam Era and Transition Era, putting steam locomotives and early diesel power front and center on a layout that has been evolving since the club's founding in 1976 as the Vallejo Model Train Club.

The layout itself is the draw. CMRS runs a 36-by-60-foot, three-level mushroom design controlled entirely on DCC, depicting the Southern Pacific and Union Pacific mainlines from Oakland west across the East Bay, through Crockett and Martinez, then climbing the Sierra Nevada to Sparks, Nevada. Two large helixes anchor opposite corners of the layout, connecting the levels and giving trains a run long enough to justify serious operating sessions. The scenery along the route hits recognizable Bay Area marks: Richmond, Hercules, Port Costa, and a detailed scale model of Crockett's own C&H Sugar plant with the approach to the Carquinez Bridge rendered beside it. That one scene, which mirrors the view from the club's own second-floor window, is what first-time visitors tend to stop and study longest.

A 30-minute visit covers a lot of ground. Enter on the second floor via stairs (the layout is not wheelchair accessible), walk the lower staging deck to watch trains emerge from the East Bay yards, trace the mainline upgrade through the helixes to the mid-level Sierra foothill scenery, and finish on the upper tier where Donner Pass and the Sparks yard come into view. Club members run trains throughout both days, so DCC throttle handling and block occupancy detection are visible in real time, not just on display.

The April open house carries an added resonance this year. The club is joining the broader celebration surrounding the legendary Union Pacific Big Boy articulated steam locomotive and America's 250th anniversary railroading commemorations, making the Steam and Transition Era theme a timely fit rather than a calendar default. For anyone who models the SP or UP California corridor, seeing those eras represented at prototype scale on a layout this size, two miles from the actual Carquinez Strait right-of-way, is a specific kind of treat.

The club meets Wednesday evenings, per its regular schedule, which is the practical on-ramp for anyone who leaves Sunday's open house wanting to pick up a soldering iron or learn DCC wiring. CMRS is a 501(c)3 nonprofit, and open house admissions support ongoing layout construction. The club can also be reached at (510) 722-3025, and its website at cmrstrainclub.org carries event updates and social media links for visitors who want to follow progress between open houses.

Parking is available at street level near 645 Loring Avenue. The building sits across from the C&H Sugar plant, which makes it easy to spot from the road.