Harry Huckemeyer
Now that all the holiday festivities are sadly a thing of the past and our New Year’s resolutions are well documented, 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 throughout the year, both locally and in other areas of the Valley. New technologies, which change almost daily, have allowed us, as a club, to stay current with the newer products as they become available and, additionally, give us the ability to become more mobile, which allows us to spread out both locally and participate in a larger number of major events outside of the local areas.
Our club always welcomes those who may have an interest in model railroading or are just looking for something of a challenge 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, bringing with us layouts as large as our hosts can provide the space for. If required, we can also downsize and put together something that will fit on an average-size card table. In addition to that, thanks to the support of one of the local HOAs, we now have available to our club members a workshop, which we can use as a test bed and a work area where members 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 members and, more importantly, those who support us, that allows all this to become a reality. Our meetings are held monthly at Oakwood in the Arts & Crafts area on the second Saturday of the month starting at 1 p.m. during the months of September up until May. For any additional information regarding club membership, please feel free to contact us, or just stop by. We can be reached via email at [email protected], or if you prefer, text us at 480-600-1349. If texting, please leave a name and number at which you can be reached.
We’re looking forward to another successful season, and as plans start to fall into place, we will try to keep you all abreast on what’s going on in the world of model railroading here in Arizona. We welcome all who have an interest, and we’re looking forward to meeting up with you all as we move on to our next adventure.