Welcome to the original Delaware,
Maryland, New Jersey and Pennsylvania model
railroad open house site. 2018 brought
the quad-state open houses back to the site
that was started in 2006! You will find
listings of open houses as you always have on
our easy to navigate pages.
The Model Railroad Open Houses
are an annual November event which showcases
local model railroads in our region.
Thanks to all who opened their
layouts this year and thanks to everyone who
got out and visited the layouts!
To streamline and improve the
process, 2019 will bring online signups via a
web form. Please check back this
summer for more information!
Our Facebook page is very active with visitors
posting photos. Layout owners are also able to
post pictures of their layouts to entice
visitors. The Facebook page is "Model
Railroad Openhouse Schedule." Please
join our social community and participate.
Thanks to all who donated so
generously towards the maintenance of this
site. Your support is much appreciated!
If you have never contributed in the past,
please consider donating and keep our great
site working for you.
Joe Walters
josephfwalters@yahoo.com
Look for online signups next
year!
Meet the Model
Railroad Open House team:
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Joe
Walters
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Joe is the head
coordinator for the site, and the
Delaware coordinator. Joe
has loved trains most of his life.
After serving in the Marines, he
started working for the Reading
Railroad. For the next 32 years he
worked for Reading, Conrail, and
Amtrak in the Mechanical Dept. His
layout, the Northeast lines, a
freelanced short line is an operating
railroad, that meets once a month. Joe
has Easy DCC and has sound in 90% of
his locomotives. Joe is an active
member of the NMRA, Philly
division.
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Fran
Giacoma
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Fran is the Maryland
Coordinator and the administrator
of our Facebook page. Fran
has loved trains since getting his
first set at 4. He turned that passion
into a 35 year career with Conrail and
CSX. His 12’x 20’ layout depicts the
B&O RR Shenandoah Subdivision set
in the fall of 1956. It is an all
diesel (with sound) operation using
wireless DCC (Digitrax) and run by
timetable & train order. It
features 4 working CPL signals, 3
grade crossing flashers, and has 95%
of the scenery complete.
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Earl
Paine |
Earl Paine is the
Southeastern Pennsylvania
coordinator. Earl
Paine lives in Skippack, PA, and has
been active in the Philly Division
since 1988. He has served on the
Philly Division Board and has been
active as the division newsletter
editor since 2007. He currently is
involved in the NMRA AP Program, and
helps coordinate the AP application
process through the area MMR’s. Since
his retirement from public school
education, he has been modeling the
Reading Main line in 1976 from
Conshohocken to Reading, PA.
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PJ
Mattson |
PJ is the New Jersey
coordinator. I'm a
Master Model Railroader #467. At
present I an the President of the MER.
My railroad
Raccoon Valley was featured in
Model Railroading in November 2005. I
am the NMRA/MER NJ Division AP
director. I coordinate the Friday
Night operation sessions for our
Friday Night Operators group. I have
been retired for 15 years and enjoy
working and operating on model
railroads.
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Karen
Darling
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Karen is the internet
coordinator. Karen has
been a raifan as long as she can
remember since first seeing her
grandfather's American Flyer layout
that took up two spare bedrooms.
Her other grandparents lived along the
Penn Central line outside of
Newark. Hear a train coming,
she'd be found at the end of their
lane waiting. She originally started
doing the website for "G-Day" for the
garden guys and offered to do the same
for the November open houses back in
2006.
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