Scale Rails of Southwest Florida

Announcements
     and Hours

We are a group of people in the greater Fort Myers, Florida area who are interested in Model Railroading. We have among our membership people with a wide range of experience in modeling, from beginners to Master Modelers. We are constantly working to improve our HO, HOn3 and N Scale layouts. We are always open to new members.

Our Charter

Our intent and purpose is to promote and encourage the art of model railroading and preserve the history, science and technology of rail transportation. To this end we have organized our efforts for charitable, educational, literary and scientific purposes. As part of our endeavors, we host railroad displays, give talks and presentations for school, museums and various organizations. Our members do not presume to be experts, but rather a group of individuals sharing knowledge with each other.

Open to the Public

We do welcome the Public to drop by and see what we are doing on Tuesday and Saturday. We have our modular N scale layout set up and operational, as well as a small N scale layout designed for young kids (as opposed to us older kids!) to operate. We also will give you a tour of the HO layout. So you can observe progress, see how it is done, and sometimes see and hear the trains running. Who knows, you might become inspired to join us!

Introductory Video

Short History

The club was formed in January of 1983 during a train show held in Ft. Myers, Florida. In 1985 the club purchased an 85ft. Amtrak passanger car which became home to our first layout.

In current building was purchased in June of 2003 and is affectionately called the "Depot". Extensive renovation to the build and the start of the new HO layout began in late 2003. The build mortgage was thankfully paid off in 2014.

Membership has has been as low as 14 in 1997 and grown to 48 in recent years. New members are always welcome. Please contact us if you have interest.

As mentioned earlyier, we model many scales. They are outlined below.

  • Image
  • Image B
  • Image C

Our Layouts

Front Room N Scale Modular Layout

Back Room HO Scale Layout

HOn3 Layout integrated with HO Layout

Club Hours

  1. VISITORS - Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday from 10:00am - 2:00pm
    Admission Fee: Free. Donations always appreciated.
  2. MEMBERS - Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturaday 10:00am - 2:00pm (Maintenance Monday and Wednesday)
  3. Closed on Holidays and Holiday Weekends

Public Announcements

  1. Our annual train show looking ahead to 2023
  2. The club is closed to non-members on the second Saturday of each month from 11:00am - 12:00pm for our monthly meeting

Hurricane Ian Update

  1. Serveral members had storm damage to their homes
  2. Roof leaks repaired. Increasing the size of the AC ducts from the system on the roof to the ducts in the building have made a big difference. Next we will increase the fan speed when the shrouds are installed.
  3. Still some gutter and down spout work to do. New metal AC shrouds on order.

Member Announcements

  1. Welcome new member Henry Horn
  2. Operating Sessions will be held every Monday night from 6-8:30pm
  3. Our next club business meeting will be held Saturday April 8, 2023 from 11:00am - 12:00pm
  4. San Bernardino control panel project complete. Working on a few issues discovered along the way. Expected to finish early April 2023.