Club History

The Brantford Model Railroad Club was established and has been at its present location since its inception in 1947. We are located minutes from the Brantford Train Station, in Brantford Ontario Canada.

The Club started in a single garage of a four garage building. It slowly expanded into the other garages over time and the entire building was purchased in the mid 1960’s. Early layouts were constructed even when the building had only a dirt floor.

As the club progressed over the years it came time to install a solid concrete floor. In order to achieve this without disturbing that particular layout – club members had to lift the layout and suspend it from the ceiling while the floor was being poured. This was no easy feat.

The Club has continuously moved forward with the times and keeps in step with new products and innovation. Anything required for the layout that is not produced in the mass-market – is scratch built or ‘invented’ by our members. The modernization of the layout itself has been a major milestone and has shifted the momentum of the Club. It has peaked the interest of both the members and those who visited us during this Spring's Layout Tour.

Did You Know?

We are the 3rd oldest Model Railroad Club in Canada.

Any Club begins with a common interest shared by a few individuals who gather under one roof. There are many different ingredients that need to come together in order for those individuals to create the reality of that shared interest.

The Brantford Model Railroad Club is just that. It started with a dream of a few individuals from diverse backgrounds who shared interest in the early technology and days of Model Railroading. From those early days evolved a Club which continues to promote the Hobby, add growing technology to the ingredients and is proud to be one of the oldest Model Railroad Clubs in Canada.

Many of our members also bring special talents that help our layout continuously move forward with technology and new modelling techniques. We always encourage the membership to ‘think outside the box’.

Take some time and follow this link to our history in words and pictures from our past, to what we are today.

Right Of Way

Work continues on our fully operational 20’ x 40’ HO Scale layout. Our members are always hard at work detailing, maintaining, and operating this large layout all the while sharing their passion for prototypical and model trains.

In addition to weekly ‘work nights’, our members participate twice a month for operating sessions in a positive and supportive environment. Additional work or operating sessions are also held depending on scheduling and member interest.

On operating nights, freights are assembled and disassembled in our yards. Industries are serviced by these freight trains using a car card system. A Dispatcher / Signals / and Engineer radio headsets add to the realistic operation of our layout. Locomotives and Trackage operate on a Digitrax Train Control ( DCC ) system.

 

Membership Information

We are accepting applications for memberships from persons 18 years of age and over.

Full Member:

A full member is a person eighteen years or older and has completed their probationary period and has been accepted as a full member. Full members have the following rights, privileges and responsibilities: A full member may hold and sit on any committee and is entitled to a key to the club. A full member may be appointed as a trustee of the club.

We welcome all Scale preferences, experience and interests.

Join our Club members on various railfanning trips and layout tours throughout the year. Our members are also willing to share their own 'how to' experiences and ideas with those just getting into the hobby or looking for a new perspective on the hobby.

Were you a previous member of the Club? - We'd love to hear from you.

Email Us: contact@brantfordmrclub.com