Walnut Creek Model Railroad Society

A couple of times a month, the Walnut Creek Model Railroad Society throws open its doors to the general public. And we get to see one of the best miniature (1:87 scale) railroad layouts in the country, painstakingly built and maintained over decades by the WCMRS.
If you have little ones, take them! It doesn’t cost much (we paid $ 5 for an adult and two kids) and it’s not very big so it’s easy to navigate (should not take more than an hour). They have thoughtfully put up raised platforms so children can view the railroad and trains, and added a few fun kid-​friendly events like the «Night Show.»
The «Night Show» is when they dim the lights to simulate sundown, add a bit of thunder, lightning and raindrops (I’m not kidding), and run the trains at night with signals glowing along the tracks and lights in the tiny communities the trains make their way through. We all loved the «Night Show.»
There is a small café and gift shop in the small room adjoining the main show room. Daniel O (the Unilocaler who diligently posts WCMRS open house events to the Unilocal community) was manning the gift shop and sold us an awesome wooden train whistle (the kids haven’t stopped playing with it), and a couple of his fellow society members served us freshly baked and warm-​out-​of-​the-​oven chocolate-​chip cookies, which we enjoyed while seated on a comfy leather sofa.
Thank you WCMRS for sharing your amazing work and passion for the railroad with the rest of us. We look forward to coming back in a few months.

Absolutely one of the coolest model railroads that I have ever seen. I have always been into trains, especially N and Z scale and can appreciate how much work it takes to make such an amazing layout. Being in my 30’s, I would love this place at any age and you can spend easily 30 – 60 minutes just looking at everything.
Highly recommended to anyone who likes model railroads. One of the best in the country for sure.

If you have trained crazed toddlers, go go go! Rainstorms every hour, on the half hour, with a dramatic sunset/​sunrise and thunder sound effects

The difference between men and boys, is the price of their toys.
And so it seemed when I recently wandered into the Walnut Creek Model Railroad Society in Larkey Park. I was here for Gayle’s employer’s picnic and the tracks were open. It’s a huge model train layout and fun to watch and enjoy. I love railroads, both big and small, and this place is the real deal, foamer or not.

Welcome to the world of Small.
Actually this place is huge and so much fun to check out if you are in the walnut creek area.
My wife grew up in the area and knew about the WCMRS and told me about it, but words have a hard time describing the tremendous amount of work that the model railroad members have put into building this ever changing scenic panorama.
You get to walk around the whole landscape while not just one train is zooming around but so many trains that I couldn’t keep track. I even saw what looked like a train that had overturned but I must have just missed it, because the miniature fireman were already there hosing down the wreckage.
It only costs 3 dollars to visit and the memories, at least for me will last a lifetime.

Highly recommend if you have small children. My 7 year old still enjoys this place and my almost three year old is really into trains now.
The models have so much really cool details. Just pay attention. Goes way beyond model trains with the miniature amusement park, towns, train stations, car shows, figurines etc. Love the cutout of the tunnel that goes through a «mountain».
WARNING ALERT #1 If you have kids of a certain age, they will be freaked out by the almost life size train conductor figure standing in the shadows. Avoid going around that way unless you want a screaming child.
WARNING ALERT #2 They always bake chocolate chip cookies (50 cents each) in the kitchen. My kids always want one. They also have hot dogs and other food items available too.
Limitation on viewing are the adults. We are always done well before the kids are. They could look at the models for hours.
If you think this is cool, check out the train museum in San Diego. They claim to be the biggest model train museum in the world. It dwarfs this one by several orders of magnitude.

ALWAYS ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR MEMBERSHIP!
Do you have the skills to build and operate model railroads? I, most likely, do not. But if I did, I’d seriously consider becoming a member of this group and getting to build, construction and run model trains.
This display is so awesome. It is really fun to walk around and even though the room isn’t huge, you can spend a LOT of time looking at the amazing and fun details. I can’t imagine how many hours have been spent in there, growing this mini community. Construction is currently in progress, making even more greatness to come.
It’s really inexpensive to check out ($ 3 for adults) and only open every other weekend or something like that (schedules are available on their website). The employees are super interesting to talk to. ONe woman/​member lives in Martinez and totally gave us directions to her home. She has a large scale track that runs around her the outside of her property! It must be so much fun!
The only thing not cool about this place was my husband’s sad face when I told him he cannot start building model trains at home too — inside or out!

It’s like you all of a sudden enter another dimension and ending up in the miniature town surrounded by mountains and tunnels and endless lines of miniature tracks and trains running on them.
Unforgettable experience for children as well as for adults.

Wow! What a local treasure! Great night out with the kids, a night they’ll never forget. I brought the family here last night for the first time to the monthly «train show» put on by the club, open to the public the last Friday of every month. This is like entering another world. The kids had a great time and the adults felt like kids and also had a great time! I have never seen anything like this. The work that this club has put into this model is incredible and just a gift for anyone that has the good fortune of being able to experience it. This is a model world, not just a train on a layout. The detail is incredible. It’s also a great lesson in train history and local history as well. There is a wealth of knowledge in this club and on display. The best way to describe this place is an interactive model train museum and learning center. I have family and friends from out of town that are already scheduled to make the trip down with their families to see the next show. The club members that host the show are so approachable and friendly and answer every question you or your kids may have. I felt inspired, came home, started figuring out how much of my living room I could use for a new train layout, my wife said I could just have the whole house and she would take the kids and go live somewhere else to make it easy for me and my trains! So, I guess I’ll put the home train layout plan on hold and just keep coming over to the train club, good thing it’s close! Just found another reason to love this community, nothing else like anywhere else!

Fun if you like trains.

Very cool place for the kids and their parents. Be sure to check the schedule as it’s not open very often.

Since my toddler is a huge fan of trucks, I figured he might be interested in trains as well, so we brought him here.
First, let me say that I don’t know anything about model trains (or real trains, for that matter), but I have to admit that the set-​up here is pretty darn fascinating! It’s not just one train going around and around. They’ve got several trains going on different tracks all at once. You can’t see the whole thing from one angle; you go all around it to see all the different «scenes» and trains.
Also, they dimmed the lights to simulate sunset and they even had a storm with lightening and thunder. It definitely added to the ambiance! At one point, we even had rain come down on us, although I couldn’t figure out where it was from, making it all the more fun!
It’s a nice touch that they have little platforms for kids to stand on to see the trains better.
All the people working there were very friendly and approachable.
Definitely the place to be if you’re a train-​lover, or if you just want a fun place to take the kids on a cold or rainy day!

Best place ever! It’s not open often (check the schedule on their website) but when it’s open, it’s definitely a place to stop for a bit (or a couple of hours if your toddler LOVES trains). I haven’t been here in a at least 15 years, but the memories are the same and I love the fact that I can pass on the tradition of trains to my son by going here.
The building seems small but they have a million miles of track inside and the amount of things to see is immeasurable. I totally thought we would only spend about a half hour here but at the two hour mark I knew we had to go. It’s just too fun. On the event days they usually have snacks, drinks, and hot dogs available. In the mornings they may have donuts too.
All the members are super friendly, they are always more than willing to talk about what is going on and how to join if you decide to take part.
Remember that «I had a blast» feeling you had has a kid watching trains? Come here, you’ll definitely have it again!

This place is adorable and a very ideal (and cheap) place to take youngsters (like my ideal, adorable nephews, perhaps). This is model train heaven with a warehouse chock full of tons of trains, landscapes, and little details everywhere — all hand made by the volunteers who run it (which are mostly a bunch of very sweet older gentlemen). The only bummer is that it is not open very often — but since it’s run by volunteers its understandable. They do extend hours and days of visiting during the holidays and break out the Christmas decorations — so it can be a really fun family outing for the holidays. They also sell a small collection of train-​related items (little kid’s conductor hats included!) for very reasonable prices.

Dang! My camera’s batteries died and I didn’t have any spares. So I just got one pic of this fabulous train layout.
I am a big rail fan – whether the trains are steam, electric, diesel, large, medium or teeny tiny.
This sweet layout is run by a group of very dedicated volunteers who are true aficionados. The layout features several different train tracks running on different levels through flat lands, tunnels, mountains, country sides and little towns. Kids and big kids like me appreciate the details of cars, people, animals, buildings that can let you put yourself into this miniature universe.
My husband got a big kick out of seeing the 5 or 6 dispatchers seated on the balcony seriously operating the trains with more precision than Amtrak.
There is a refreshment counter and a small gift shop. We haven’t been here for years. When our son was in his golden train years we went here often. But since he is a big, bad teen we hadn’t been here for years. It was fun to return and be thrilled once again by the tiny choo-​chooing.
Hours are limited. Check their website for their schedule.

This is a very cheap model train exhibit place. Its usually $ 3 per adult, $ 2 per child. And its not open that often so check the website for hours. The model train setup fills a large room, it’s a lot of fun to look at, and they sell refreshments. We often bring young visiting family members to this place as their members (which are all volunteers) are really nice and it’s cheap and fun. Its a large extremely detailed layout, you can tell its really a labor of love. It’s also right near the park, with 1 or 2 playgrounds if the kids need to work off some energy.
See this link for more information