Lake County Model Railroad Club Opens Doors for Annual Wauconda Showcase

The Lake County Model Railroad Club opened its doors at 107 S. Main St. in Wauconda for its spring open house, welcoming visitors through the rear entrance off Bangs Street into a 1,300-square-foot HO scale layout tucked beneath Honey Hill Coffee Shop. The event ran 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., drawing train enthusiasts of all ages to one of the oldest continuously operating model railroad clubs in the region.

The layout rewards close inspection. Built to HO scale (1:87, the most popular model railroad scale in North America), the trackwork spans 365 feet end to end, representing 8 scale miles of mainline through a Central Midwest steam-to-diesel transition era railroad. Six passing sidings, two main yards, two four-track interchange yards, and two staging areas give operators room to run full-length consists. The whole system runs on wireless Digitrax DCC paired with a JMRI prototypical signal system, handling everything from throttle control to realistic block signaling.

Scale replicas of Wauconda, Palatine, Madison, and Lake Geneva appear along the route, giving the layout a regional identity that northwest suburban visitors tend to notice immediately. Dianne Siekmann of Mundelein was among those who stopped to look. "I love them — the overall detail. I'm so impressed. It feels like everyone's alive," she said.

Norm Kocol, who joined the club in 1974 and has watched it grow through five decades of open houses, summed up the mission directly. "To promote the hobby as an activity that families can participate in together, and to give people an idea of what they can do in their own homes," he said. Kocol also pointed to what separates LCMRR from many other clubs: "We're one of the oldest clubs in the area and one of the few that has the same existing layout. A lot of other clubs never get to the point we are as far as the scenery detail and realism."

That longevity traces back to late January 1972, when a group of local hobbyists founded the club in downtown Wauconda. Within weeks, members had agreed on a track plan and started benchwork. On April 16, 1972, they nailed a golden spike into the track to mark completion of the main line, and by November of that year, held their first open house. The club celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2022.

Club president Trent Blasco frames the hobby's appeal in hands-on terms: "A good wintertime hobby in which you can build your skills and use your hands."

Open houses run twice yearly, spring and fall, typically drawing hundreds of visitors, with youth scavenger hunts featured at each event. The layout is also open free to the public every Friday from 6 to 8 p.m. The next open house is scheduled for November 8 and 9 at the same Wauconda location. Membership information is available at lcmrr.org.