President:
Gary Lewis
Vice President:
Phil Edholm
Secretary:
Jere Ingram
Treasurer:
John Kolberg
HO Scale Trainmaster:
TBD
HO Scale Assistant Trainmaster:
TBD
O Scale Trainmaster:
Dick Stark
O Scale Assistant Trainmaster:
Larry Brickell
The Alameda County Central Railroad Society (ACCRS) was formed in 1959 by a group of model Railroad enthusiasts who wanted to pool their time, talents, equipment and whatever money they could put together to build a layout.
In the early days, the expenses were largely paid for out-of-pocket by the members. A relatively small layout was put together and the club first opened it’s doors to the public for the 1960 Alameda County Fair.
The club moved to a different building in 1967. Then, in the early 1980's, when membership grew and a larger space was needed, the club moved again to the building we now occupy.
Today, the club is funded primarily by donations from visitors.
Our building features an HO-scale layout on one side, and an O-scale / On3-scale layout on the other side.
HO-scale has a ratio of 1:87, which means that 1" on an HO model is equivalent to 87" (7.25') on a full-size unit.
O-scale has a ratio of 1:48, which means that 1" on an O-scale model is equivalent to 48" (4') on a full-size unit.
Our layouts are a permanent exhibit on the Fairgrounds, and don't get "set up" for each show. We've been changing and improving the layouts since 1983, and we're still working on new projects.
We spend a lot of time between shows fixing problems, adding new features, and checking all the track and electrical controls, so that everything is operating properly when we're open to the public. There is a lot of track that is hidden from view. All the track, scenery, and effects must be in good shape for a show.
No. Unfortunately, it was incorrectly stated that any member of the public can come and run their trains. This is not true. You must be a full member to run trains on our layouts.
Also, we have some specific requirements for the types of equipment that can be used on the layouts. This is so that we can maintain the layouts' proper operation.
No. The type of rail, the type of track and the type of power for the "three-rail" or "tinplate" Lionel trains are different and incompatible with our layouts. However, Lionel has produced lines of "two rail" models in HO and O scales that can be used on the club layouts. Unfortunately, there are rumors circulating that Lionel has abandoned the HO market.
We are a free exhibit any time we're open!
That said, we gladly accept donations. We use donations to pay for the materials and parts used in the construction and repair of the layouts. Club members are volunteers; none of us get paid for any of the time or effort that we put in. In fact, we each pay yearly dues to help support the club.
We try to run our model trains at a "prototypical speed", which means close to that of a real freight or passenger train. Almost all the trains you see are owned by our members, and they are often very expensive and fragile.
Our lawyers have advised us not to answer this question, mostly because we do not know the answer (wink). However, there are thousands of hours of work plus many dollars of our dues and your donations for supplies and equipment. And we've been building, adding, updating, and repairing everything for many decades.
Our exhibit is a permanent year-round setup and we are open most Friday evenings, for the Alameda County Fair, and for public events at the fairgrounds, such as the Goodguys car shows.
Our layouts do not have a third rail. The trains pick up the electricity to run through their wheels (trucks) from the two main rails.
We do occasionally have collisions and derailments, but we try to avoid that happening. Our members' equipment is very fragile, and very expensive, and damaged parts can be difficult to repair.
We have a dispatch panel on each layout where the train dispatcher can change the switches on the mainline and instruct the train operators where to stop at to wait for other trains. Some parts of the layouts, mostly on the HO layout, are a single-track mainline, so trains have to stop and wait for each other.
We started working on these layouts in 1983 when we moved to this building.
No, it stays in this building and we work on it during our Friday night meetings.
The Fair owns the building. The club owns the layouts (track, buildings, scenery, etc.). But most of the rolling stock and locomotives are owned by the individual members.
The switches on the Dispatch Panels control the various tracks the trains run on. They allow us to go from a one track to a another track by throwing a switch, which is called a turnout. The flashing yellow lights tell us where the trains are on the layout. The green/red lights tell us which track the train will use.
The best way to contact us for questions and answer is to come down and visit us. However, we also have Facebook and Instagram sites where you can post a question. See the links to our Social Media sites on the "Visit Us" page.
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