Covid interrupted and slowed the progress, but a substantial amount of work has been completed on the new Carolina Model Railroad layout, thanks to the efforts of a dedicated team of club members.   

The original DC layout with HO, N and HOn3 scale trackage was constructed in 1973 in one of the former waiting rooms at the ex-Southern Railway train station adjacent to our current location in the former Railway Express Agency building.  When the station was renovated beginning in 2001, the club moved to a former knitting mill in northeast Greensboro and then to our current location in October 2003.  It and the current layout have been DCC since then, with electronics by Digitrax. In 2019, the 2003 layout was dismantled and a new adventure was begun. 

Below is the track plan for the HO portion of our new layout depicting the Piedmont, Sandhills and western North Carolina.  

The HO layout has 1200 feet of code 83 track, 42 yard switches, five rivers and 195 structures, as of June 2023

Below is the N scale freelanced (not meant to represent any specific area) layout

 

                                                               

Seen above is the layout room in the former Greensboro Railway Express Agency building, with the HO portion of the layout in the foreground and the N scale layout in the distance

    

Greensboro Pomona Yard spot car repair and crew facilities on the HO (above)

The N scale layout is seen above

Big hands, tiny little cars.  On the N scale (above).  

One of two mines and backdrop on the N scale layout (above)  

An operating session on the HO layout (above)

Don't you wish you were lazing along in that boat?  On the HO (above)

A picnic next to the tracks on the HO (above)

Santa Fe's "El Capitan" passing a Union Pacific train on the N scale 

Scenes (above) on the HO

 The Perdue grain elevators in Candor NC, seen on the HO (above)

Greensboro intermodal yard on the HO (above)

Color for the usually monochrome Norfolk Southern (on the HO above)

Work progresses on the western NC mountain landscape on the HO (above)

1940's small town scene on the HO (above)

Coming around the wye (seen above on the HO).

Norfolk Southern freight train passes old factories on the N scale above.

Central of Georgia Fairbanks-Morse unit with a freight on the HO (below)

From across the pond: 4-6-2 "Tornado" (above left) and 0-6-0 Class J-11 from the UK (above right) on the HO; GB Railfreight Class 66 (essentially an SD40-2 built by EMD) on the HO (below)

The HO model in the two photos below is of Evonik Stockhausen Chemical in Greensboro. 

A fixture in Greensboro for years, it is the largest manufacturer in the world of a super-absorbent polymer used in diapers and similar products, producing over 100,000 metric tons a year. 

 

 Below are views showing details inside some structures on the HO layout

Susquehanna GE B40-8's rolling though town on the HO (above)

Excited Superliner passengers as Amtrak heads out on the HO (above)

 

43-car Bangor & Aroostook freight rounds the bend on the HO (above)

N&W local freight pulled by an Alco RS-11 on the N scale (above)

A big DL&W 4-6-4 eases into a little depot one day in 1940 on the HO

Other scenes on the HO below

                                               

Switching the HO layout with a Burlington Northern unit one afternoon (above)

Southern Railway freight train with GE power on the N scale (above)

Scenes around the Siler City NC depot on the HO (below)  

CSX freight on the HO (above) 

The people living in these houses above are all railfans

 

Taking out a load of scrap metal on the HO above

US Army Transportation Corps HO train pulled by 65-ton Whitcomb diesel (above)

It's a busy day on the back dock at the HO scale Bartlett Milling

The HO Greensboro Pomona Yard, with the Colonial Pipeline petroleum tank farm in the background. The actual Pomona Yard has a capacity of over 800 freight cars. Colonial's 600-acre Greensboro complex is the largest on their 5500 mile system, with pipeline branches to other cities in the eastern US that deliver 3 million barrels of 86 types of petroleum products daily.  The Colonial site and other company facilities nearby make it one of the largest tank farms in the US, with a capacity of over a billion gallons of refined petroleum products stored in over 125 tanks within a mile radius.  

Pulling freight through the edge of town on the HO (above)

An evening train glides into town on the HO (above)

Another view of the HO layout (above) and the N scale in the distance

Above: Southern Pacific "Daylight" passenger train on the N scale

(Above) The HO National Pipe and Plastics facility in Colfax NC

Other scenes from around the HO layout below -   

  

 

 

 

The HO Davie St. Bridge (above) as it is sometimes seen

 

Joe (above) knows exactly where to stop his train on the HO

Digitrax power station for the N scale layout  

 

 

 Views of the CMR 2004-2019 HO and N scale layouts (above) in the REA building

 

The 1970's - 2001 CMR HO, N and HOn3 layouts in the former west waiting room of the Greensboro Southern Railway passenger station are seen below 

 

 

MOVING TO OUR PRESENT LOCATION                        OCTOBER 3, 2003.  

CMR moved into the former Railway Express Agency Building as the first occupant after the $31 million refurbishment of the former Southern Railway Greensboro station (now the Douglas Galyon Transportation Complex).  We'd been in the former Cone Mills Revolution knitting mill as a temporary home while the 2001-2003 renovation took place, having formerly been located in the station's west waiting room since the 1970's.  Although there were still tasks to be done, the entire move took one day, with trains running by evening.  Photos of that day are below.  

 

CMR IN MODEL RAILROADER FEBRUARY 1979

Below is an old photo from the layout likely dating to the 1970's

CAROLINA MODEL RAILROADERS, INC.

Founded in 1973, the purpose of the Carolina Model Railroaders is to promote model railroading, build and operate model railroad layouts, and to foster fellowship among persons interested in model railroading. Membership in the Carolina Model Railroaders is open to any person interested in the goals of the organization.

 

We are currently building an HO Scale (1:87) layout extending southeast to the Sandhills and west to the North Carolina mountains.

 

Our club models in two primary scales, N and HO. However, we built and maintained the O-gauge layout at the Greensboro Children’s Museum that was displayed for about 9 years. We also operate a Z-scale layout at shows and special occasions.

 

Our club is open to all who wish to promote and further model railroading. Family participation is encouraged and visitors are always welcome.

 

CMR Hours: We will open to the public June 5 2021.  Visitors must observe posted protective regulations.
CMR Club Meetings open to public we meet every Thursday at 7:00pm; Saturday 10am-5pm and Sunday 2-5pm
Location: GALYON DEPOT, RAILWAY EXPRESS AGENCY BUILDING, NEXT TO GREYHOUND TERMINAL

Address: 234-B East Washington St, Greensboro, NC 27401

Mailing Address: Post Office Box 13642, Greensboro, NC 27415-3642

Phone Number: 336-312-4198 

 

NATIONAL RAILWAY HISTORICAL SOCIETY 

From the "glory days" of steam locomotion to today's fast-paced world of high-speed urban transports, railroading has played a key role in developing our vast American landscape. The Greensboro Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society works to preserve this heritage by bringing together a core group of individuals dedicated to reliving the past glories and future possibilities of the world's most exciting form of transportation. Founded in 1977, the Greensboro Chapter is but one of over 160 chapters located throughout the U.S. and Canada.

 

Activities include monthly meetings, a library, trips to places of railroad interest, and railroad excursions on some of the Piedmont's most exciting railway systems. We also enjoy railroad literature, music, poetry, and meeting railroad people. Family participation is encouraged and visitors are always welcome. 

 

We also operate a small museum in the lobby of the  former Railway Express Agency building, with exhibits focused on Greensboro area railroad history.  On display are lanterns, conductor uniform parts, photos, artifacts from freight and passenger trains and the bell attributed to be from the locomotive that was the subject of the famous song "Wreck of the Old 97."  This tragic accident of the Southern Railway train called The Fast Mail happened in Danville VA in 1903.

 

 Greeensboro Chapter NRHS museum area, showing steam locomotive bell attributed to the Wreck of the Old 97 engine.

The NRHS is a non-profit section 501(c)(3) organization, and contributions are tax-deductible.

 

NRHS Club Meetings: WE'VE MET EVERY THIRD MONDAY AT 7:00 PM BY ZOOM DURING COVID BUT WATCH THIS SPACE FOR EXPECTED CHANGES AS RESTRICTIONS ARE LIFTED

Location: GALYON DEPOT, RAILWAY EXPRESS AGENCY BUILDING, NEXT TO GREYHOUND TERMINAL

Mailing Address: Greensboro Chapter NRHS, PO Box 16745 Greensboro, NC 27416

Phone Number: (336) 908-2321