The Redwood Empire District is home to an impressive collection of operational layouts—and you can be part of the action! If you’re interested in participating in layout operations, check back on this page after the first of the year to sign up.
No experience? No problem!
All skill levels are welcome, and we’ll be there to guide you every step of the way.
Have a layout you’d like to share?
If you’re interested in hosting operating sessions on your layout during the convention, please reach out to Doug Smith at ops@pcr2026.org
Layouts
These layout owners will be hosting operating sessions. Addresses and further information will be available at registration at the convention. If you need information in advance send a note to Doug Smith at ops@pcr2026.org
Oregon I-5 Corridor – Bill Horstmeyer
The railroad is the Oregon I-5 Corridor. It is a contemporary road running between Portland and Klamath Falls Oregon. The main line is about 400 feet with 8 passing sidings. There are 3 branch lines – the Portland and Oregon, the Central Oregon and Pacific, and the Modoc Northern. Both mainline and switching operations are featured along with branch line activity.
8 Operators, Dispatching by track warrants, HO Scale
The layout will also be open for tours (Click here)
Northwestern Pacific – Ed Merrin
The goal of this HO scale layout is to capture the look and feel of the late 1950s Northwestern Pacific Railroad. The 13×17 foot layout features two visible levels, with a third level below for staging, all connected by two helixes. The lower level depicts scenes in Sonoma County, including the towns of Petaluma and Santa Rosa, and on the upper level are parts of Mendocino County, including the division point at Willits.
The layout will also be open for tours (Click here)
California Western Railroad – Gus Campgna
The California Western Railroad is a triple deck layout in a 31′ x 25′ garage, with a connecting 10′ x 25′ crew lounge. The layout is Lenz DCC controlled, with mostly hand thrown turnouts, and steam and diesel operations. Most locomotives have sound installed. The prototype CWR is a 40-mile railroad connecting Fort Bragg on the coast with Willits on the NWP mainline. The HO scale CWR has 270′ of mainline track. The Willits portion is 50′ long and connects to staging at both ends. The railroad runs on Timetable & Train orders, point to point.
8 Operators, Dispatching by TT&TO, HO Scale
The layout will also be open for tours (Click here)
Santa Cruz Northern – Jim Providenza
The Santa Cruz Northern is walk in, walk around double deck point-to-point; proto-freelanced modeling a joint WP-Santa Fe subsidiary from San Jose to Santa Cruz in 1971. Positions include a dispatcher, two agent-operators, a yardmaster and two person train crews.
12 Operators, Dispatching by TT&TO, HO Scale
The layout will also be open for tours (Click here)
