During 2011, the Santa Fe Model Railroad Club continued to bring the joy of the hobby of model railroading and trains to our neighbors within the community. As we have the past fifteen years or so, the club members volunteered to operate the great Lionel trains of the First National Bank’s Annual Holiday Train Celebration. Because of renovation work at the bank, the club setup the holiday trains across the street at the New Mexico History Museum.  Over 2,500 people visited the layout.  

 

For a second year, the club members built a small Thomas the Tank Engine holiday train for the Santa Fe Children’s Museum, always a hit with the tykes. In the words of the museum staff, “At any given moment, anywhere from a solitary child to a throng of nudging and jockeying kids could be found flipping switches and pushing buttons, transfixed by SFMRRC’s thoughtfully constructed locomotive world.  The Thomas the Train theme, as always was a tremendous hit.”  

 

Our club’s biggest accomplishment was finishing the exhibit model of the town of Lamy ca. 1950 for the Lamy Railroad & History Museum. The golden spike ceremony was held at the museum in July.  Go by the museum and push the button to operate the Santa Fe Chief bound for Los Angeles, CA.

 

The Lamy Museum donated an N gauge layout to the Kingston Residence retirement community. Club members moved the layout and had trains running by the time Santa Claus visited the center residents, grandkids and all. 

Over the past several years the club has worked with local 4-H clubs to operate trains at the fairgrounds twice a year – Memorial Day weekend and in October -- as a fund raiser for the 4-H activities.  The club benefits greatly by the collaboration – we love to run our trains on the modules that can fill up the fairground buildings!  All the while the 4-H club members operate a food booth, which did very well at the October 2011 show.  

 

We look forward to similar activities in 2012.