Group 160 NTRAK

Upcoming Events

Great American Train Show, Ventura, CA

Jan 31 - Feb 1

Ventura County Fairgrounds

Golden Empire Historical and Modeling Society (GEHAMS), Bakersfield, CA

March 7 - 8

Kern County Fairgrounds

If you are interested in hosting Group 160 at your location or event, please contact group160ntrak@gmail.com for additional information.

Photos

About

Group 160 NTRAK is a modular model railroad club with members in Los Angeles, Kern, and Ventura Counties of Southern California. We display and operate our layouts approximately six or seven times a year throughout these counties.

Group 160 welcomes all those who wish to participate in the enjoyable hobby of N-Scale model railroading, watching real trains, talking about trains, and just about anything train related. Owning a module is not a requirement and anyone who wishes to operate trains is just as welcome to join. We even offer Youth membership to those between 12 & 18 years of age.

If you see us at a show or event, please stop by and say hello! We might even let you drive a train or two.

Calendar

Click the "Add to Google Calendar" button at the bottom to get these events in your calendar!

If you don't use Google Calendar, you can also add this .ics as a web calendar .

History

Founded in 1993 by George Johnsen and others interested in N-Scale model railroading, the idea was to bring together modelers who enjoyed N-Scale model railroading but who had little or no room for a home layout, or those who had home layouts but wanted to run long trains. They also hoped to spread the word about the hobby of model railroading.

Group 160’s layouts are modular in nature; we do not have a permanent layout, but rather we bring modules to shows. We follow the NTRAK 2000 standard for most of our modules, which is an older version of the NTRAK standards characterized by slightly wider modules with more room between tracks.

The main theme of Group 160’s club-owned NTRAK modules depicts the Pacific Northwest lumber industry. Club-owned modules include four corner modules, a small town, an animated tornado & fireworks factory, a yard, and an access bridge to the inside of the layout.

The remainder of the layout modules are owned by individual members of the club. Members’ modules express a broad range of interests including: small towns & industries, orange groves and fruit packing, a gorge, and even the English countryside. There are no rules when coming up with the theme for a member-owned module, save one: Have fun!

Meetings

Our monthly organizational meetings are held on the 2nd Thursday of the month.

Meetings are currently being held via ZOOM.

Please email us at group160ntrak@gmail.com for meeting information.

Membership Info

You do not need to have a module to join the club! Many long-time members don't have any modules. What is most important is being able to run trains in front of the public, and giving the public something they can look at in shows.

The most important thing a member can do is provide labor for setting up and taking down the modules. Depending on the size of the layout, setup can take several hours - so help is appreciated!

If you are interested in building a module, the club follows the NTRAK 2000 standard for most of its modules. We do have several transition modules which allow us to incorporate standard NTRAK modules as needed. The differences between NTRAK 2000 and standard NTRAK are as follows:

Module Width – 30 inches (instead of 24 inches)

Red Line – centerline 4 inches from the fascia

Yellow Line – centerline 5 1/2 inches from the fascia

Branch Line / Blue Line – centerline 14 inches from the fascia

Group 160 Green Line (optional) – centerline 25 inches from the fascia and track 3 inches above the module tabletop

Note that the club Green Line is rarely used and it is best to consult with the rest of the club before adding one.

The club owns a Digitrax system which is used to run the layout via Digital Command and Control (DCC). While we strongly encourage members to bring a Digitrax throttle to use at shows, we also provide the ability for members to connect their phones to the club's DCC system so that trains can be operated from a mobile phone (WiThrottle):

JMRI: WiFi Throttle

It can be set to start automatically with the "Start Up" section in the "JMRI Preferences".

The club does not have a permanent layout space, but we do travel to various locations in Los Angeles County (as well as occasionally Kern County and very occasionally other places in SoCal).

We commonly have a show in Ventura in March, Lomita in September (near Long Beach), and Glendora (border of LA/San Bernardino County) around the holidays. Other shows pop up throughout the year in a less predictable fashion, but we usually attend 6-7 events per year. Shows are agreed to by membership during our monthly club meetings.

Note that due to logistics, sometimes shows can have fairly short notice! Once voted on by members, we put our name out for shows as they come up. We usually only get told that we are "good to go" for a show about a month before that show happens.

To become a full voting member of the club, membership dues are $100/year. This helps pay for upkeep and regular maintenance of club-owned modules. Becoming a club member gives you a complementary membership to NRail.

NRail - Home

The purpose of NRail is to promote N Scale model railroading in all forms, all standards wherever N Scale is present. NRail has been the voice of N Scale model railroading for over 45 years. Starting as NTRAK, it created the first national modular standard, provided the vehicle for N Scale to grow to the second most popular scale in North America, was the birthplace of T-TRAK and today is the home of N Scale model railroading. We welcome all N scalers

We also require that all members also be a member of the NMRA.

Membership Application and Renewal

Join the NMRA and enjoy the many benefits of membership. Please review the information below before completing your membership application. (NOTE: You may select 1 or 2 years for either new or renewal memberships at the final checkout page on the NMRA Company Store after entering in the requested information. Select the QTY field and change as needed, then click on the UPDATE button to recalculate the amount due.) Want to "test drive" the NMRA for a little while? Sign up for our 9-month Rail Pass trial membership for only $19.95! This Includes 9 months of the Digital NMRA Magazine.

Proof of NMRA membership is required each year.

We offer Youth Memberships for any person between the ages of 12 and 18 years old. No dues are charged for Youth Memberships. However, Youth Members must be accompanied at club functions by a parent or guardian who is registered as a "regular" club member.

For further details, please email us at group160ntrak@gmail.com so we can give you the "Group 160 Rules of the Road". This includes more information about everything listed above and agreement is a requirement for membership.

Group 160 is a 100% National Model Railroad Association (NMRA) Club.

Group 160 is proud to be an NRail Super Club.

Social Media

Links

Group 160 NTRAK is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.