Welcome to the Los Angeles Division, NMRA

Do you love trains? So do we! We are a group of model railroaders in Ventura and Los Angeles counties who share our love of trains and modeling by educating people and promoting the hobby of model railroading, helping all modelers - from beginners to experts - build their skills and capabilities, and holding in-person and virtual events.

Please look around the site to learn more about the Los Angeles Division, the National Model Railroad Association (NMRA), local rail-related museums, groups, and hobby shops, and upcoming local, regional and national model railroad events.

Spotlight On John Parrish's Modules

Click on a photo to read John's description of the photo and how he made it.

Men loading blocks of ice into refrigerator cars that will transport fresh California citrus to eastern markets in the '50's. The refers are from Intermountain and Athearn. The track is Atlas code 83. Turnouts are from Peco. All other scenery is scratch built.

I built this 4 foot wide by 2 foot deep module for my former modular club "Green River Junction Modular Railroad" prior to the Pandemic. I took the background photos and sent them to a backdrop service. I positioned the board and back drop outside at the same time of day that the photos had been taken. The board display and backdrop board were on saw horses and I adjusted the board in the sunlight to closely match the shadows of the board models with the shadows in the photos.
keeping em cold

Men loading blocks of ice into refrigerator cars that will transport fresh California citrus to eastern markets in the '50's. The refers are from Intermountain and Athearn. The track is Atlas code 83. Turnouts are from Peco. All other scenery is scratch built.

I built this 4 foot wide by 2 foot deep module for my former modular club "Green River Junction Modular Railroad" prior to the Pandemic. I took the background photos and sent them to a backdrop service. I positioned the board and back drop outside at the same time of day that the photos had been taken. The board display and backdrop board were on saw horses and I adjusted the board in the sunlight to closely match the shadows of the board models with the shadows in the photos.
Santa Fe F units pass by a packing house and ice making facility somewhere in Southern California during the 1950's. Refrigerator cars are being loaded with ice to keep fruits and vegetables fresh for the long trip to eastern markets. The Santa Fe "Cat Whisker" F units are Athearn Genesis, reefer cars are Athearn and Intermountain, track is Atlas code 83, all other scenery is scratch built .

The models and foreground were adjusted in natural sunlight to match the background photos taken in Southern California. This picture was shown in Model Railroader issue October 2021, page 64-65.
a sunny day on the santa fe

Santa Fe F units pass by a packing house and ice making facility somewhere in Southern California during the 1950's. Refrigerator cars are being loaded with ice to keep fruits and vegetables fresh for the long trip to eastern markets. The Santa Fe "Cat Whisker" F units are Athearn Genesis, reefer cars are Athearn and Intermountain, track is Atlas code 83, all other scenery is scratch built .

The models and foreground were adjusted in natural sunlight to match the background photos taken in Southern California. This picture was shown in Model Railroader issue October 2021, page 64-65.
A Southern Pacific EMD MP15 switcher moves a tank car of petroleum at a large refinery. The switcher is an Athearn ready-to-run, the tank car is from Tyco, and track is Atlas code 83. The large oil storage tank on the right is from Walthers and all other scenery is scratch built.

This 4 foot wide by 2 foot modular board was photographed in natural sunlight and again positioned to match shadows from the models in the foreground with photos in the backdrop. Photos taken with a digital Canon PowerShot SX20IS on a tripod.
sp moving energy

A Southern Pacific EMD MP15 switcher moves a tank car of petroleum at a large refinery. The switcher is an Athearn ready-to-run, the tank car is from Tyco, and track is Atlas code 83. The large oil storage tank on the right is from Walthers and all other scenery is scratch built.

This 4 foot wide by 2 foot modular board was photographed in natural sunlight and again positioned to match shadows from the models in the foreground with photos in the backdrop. Photos taken with a digital Canon PowerShot SX20IS on a tripod.
The Santa Fe "Super Chief" races across the red rock country of northern New Mexico on the 3 foot wide by 1 foot deep HO scale diorama board. The F units are all Athearn blue box and the signal bridge is from NJ International. Some rocks and soil are from Sedona, Arizona and the backdrop was hand painted using acrylics. Photo taken outdoors in natural sunlight with a 35mm Minolta SLR film camera.
red rock country

The Santa Fe "Super Chief" races across the red rock country of northern New Mexico on the 3 foot wide by 1 foot deep HO scale diorama board. The F units are all Athearn blue box and the signal bridge is from NJ International. Some rocks and soil are from Sedona, Arizona and the backdrop was hand painted using acrylics. Photo taken outdoors in natural sunlight with a 35mm Minolta SLR film camera.
A Union Pacific Gas Turbine about to break the signal light on the main of my "Great Southwest and Pacific Railroad". The gas turbine is from Athearn and the cantilever signal bridge is NJ International. All other scenery is scratch built. Photo taken indoors using a 35mm Minolta SLR film camera.
turbine power

A Union Pacific Gas Turbine about to break the signal light on the main of my "Great Southwest and Pacific Railroad". The gas turbine is from Athearn and the cantilever signal bridge is NJ International. All other scenery is scratch built. Photo taken indoors using a 35mm Minolta SLR film camera.

Los Angeles Division member John Parrish shared these photos of some of his work. The first four photos were taken outdoors on HO scale modules that John built as part of the former Green River Junction Modular Railroad. John positioned the boards and backdrop outside at the same time of day as the backdrop photo positioned them so that the shadows on the module and the backdropped matched each other. This attention to detail helps increase the realism of the photos. The outdoor photos were taken with a Canon PowerShot SX20IS digital camera on a tripod. The last photo was taken indoors on John’s "Great Southwest and Pacific Railroad" layout using a film camera.

John is a member of the Santa Susana Modular Railroad in Simi Valley. He is on Facebook with a number of western railroads (UP, SP, ATSF, BNSF, WP and Rio Grande) that display both models and/or prototypes. You can e-mail john at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

We need your help! If you have photos of a model you are proud of, a cool train-related thing you saw in the area or on a trip, or have some interesting news, please contact us so we can share it with the rest of the world.

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Upcoming Events

Some of the upcoming railroad-related events over the next month or two include:

December 6 - Christmas Tree Lane Model Train Society Open House, Altadena
December 6 - Glendale Model Railroad Club Open House, Glendale
December 6 - Los Angeles Model Railroad Society Open House and Swap Meet, Harbor City
December 12 - Toy Train Operating Society, Santa Fe Division SuperMeet, Anaheim
December 13 - Christmas Tree Lane Model Train Society Open House, Altadena
December 13 - Southern Pacific Historical and Technical Society Used Book and Artwork Sale, Upland
December 13 - Toy Train Operating Society, Santa Fe Division SuperMeet, Anaheim
December 20 - Christmas Tree Lane Model Train Society Open House, Altadena
December 20 - Glendale Model Railroad Club Open House, Glendale
December 22 - Glendale Model Railroad Club Open House, Glendale
December 27 - Christmas Tree Lane Model Train Society Open House, Altadena

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The Los Angeles Division

We are a group of more than 200 railroad modelers in Los Angeles and Ventura counties in southern California. We are one of 150 local groups, called "divisions", of the National Model Railroad Association (NMRA) across the world. The Los Angeles Division is part of the Pacific Southwest Region of the NMRA, which includes three other divisions covering Southern California, Arizona, and Southern Nevada.

We hold a monthly virtual meeting on the first Thursday of every month at 7pm. These informal "Sand House Chats" are a round-table where members can share information and talk about whatever interests them.

All Division members receive the "LA Division Coupler," the Division's quarterly newsletter via email.

In addition to our website, we share information on multiple social media sites.

The Los Angeles Division, NMRA Facebook page (a public page that anyone can "like" to follow)
The NMRA Los Angeles Division - A 501(c)(3) non-profit organization Facebook group (a private group for Division members)
The Los Angeles Division, NMRA Instagram page (Coming Soon!)

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The NMRA

The National Model Railroad Association is a 501(c)(3) not for profit educational organization that was founded in 1935. It is a world-wide organization with over 16,000 active members, associates, families and clubs dedicated to the hobby of scale model railroading in all its facets, supporting a hobby of many diverse interests that all relate to the greater world of trains and railroads.

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