The Clinton Central Model Railroad Club is organized for the purpose of advancing the interest in model railroading in Northcentral Pennsylvania. The layout is HO scale and is 100% DCC (Digital Command Control). We are located just across the Bald Eagle Creek from Lock Haven in the old Castanea Railroad Station, and are open Tuesday evenings (except every 3rd Tuesday due to club business meetings) for people interested in getting involved in model railroading.
2022 Update
Clinton Central Model Railroad continues to grow, not only on the layout (Hill's Paint Factory is the latest addition), but also in membership. Although we are an HO scale model railroad, if you use a different scale (N or O gauge) and want to learn about track laying and wiring, Java Model Railroad Interface (JMRI) for control of your layout and programming your engines, and Operations, or if you don't even have a layout at home but want to be involved in model railroading, come visit us on a Tuesday evening to see what we have to offer. A first year membership is only $25 to join if you like what you see! If you need directions to reach us, please see our Contact page.
In 2022 we also moved the location of our Annual Fall Train Meet from the Clinton County Fairgrounds to a location closer to Williamsport: Woodwood Township Fire Company in Linden, PA (just west of Williamsport on US-220). See our Events page for details on our upcoming Annual Spring Train Meet and future Open Houses.
2020 Update
Clinton Central Model Railroad made the decision to change the location of our Annual Fall Train Meet from an enclosed meeting room, to an outdoors venue at the Clinton County Fairgrounds. The Train Meet was under cover with ample air ventilation in case of inclement weather, but the weather was beautiful and the Train Meet was a big success. Based on attendance and positive feedback from both vendors and attendees, we are holding our upcoming Spring Train Meet at the same location in May 2021. See our Events page on this site and Facebook page for details.
Operations using car cards and waybills to route freight cars along 2 mainline tracks (East and West bound), several branch lines, and two main classification yards to approximately 100 different industries began running on the second Tuesday of each month starting late 2019 and has continued into 2020. Development along one of the newest branch lines will add numerous new industries in the near future. Members have continued to complete their train orders on non-operating evenings, picking up where the last ops session left off.
The best way to see our updates and the entire layout is to visit our club in Castanea during our Open House season, which starts in November. Click on Events at the top of this page to see our complete schedule of Open Houses for 2021 - 2022 (our 2020 - 2021 schedule has been cancelled due to COVID-19). For directions to the club in Castanea, see our Contact page. We are also on FaceBook - stop by our page at https://www.facebook.com/Clinton-Central-Model-Railroad-123364467700734/, and LIKE us. If you would like to receive email notification of our upcoming events, send us an email at info@ccmrr.org
2019 Update
2019 was a quiet year as far as layout construction was concerned. However, we used the Summer and Fall "up time" to run several operating sessions with positive results. We have even scheduled Operations Tuesday for the second Tuesday of each month, except during Open House season. We have limited operations to members and their guests for now; it is possible that we might open up to non-members upon invitation in the future, but that decision hasn't been made yet.
Our 2019 -2020 Open House season starts Tuesday evening November 26, 2019 and runs through to February 1, 2020. Dates can be viewed on our Events page.
2018 Update
The third peninsula has under gone many changes in 2018. Several operating sessions were held earlier in the year with good results. Car cards and waybills helped move freight and materials to their destinations throughout the layout, but after several sessions, it was determined that Bookside Yard was a bottle neck and causing delays, so major re-work of the yard has been the focus of this Summer's work.
Bookside yard has almost tripled, in size and length, to decongest the yard during operations, allowing additional and easier operator access. The lumber mill has been completed at the western end of Bookside. A passing siding on the branch line to Newton Station has been added also, with a spur into a new paper mill which was also completed in 2018.
The second deck on the 3rd peninsula has seen lots of improvements, including the extension of the branch line now serving new industries and looping around the back at the end of the peninsula. A new bridge over the ravine in back has been added to carry freight while a spur for excursion trains crosses the same ravine via a hand built wooden trestle just behind it. The branch line continues along the backside of the peninsula and connects to the helix allowing access to the 3rd and 2nd level yards over Lockwood and Agnes yards. New industries are planned for the rear of the second deck in 2018. Future plans include connecting the branch line to the new coal mine that is suspended over the paper mill facility.
The second deck over Lockwood and Agnes yards (formerly known as Central Yard) has been completed and a third deck is under construction. More yards and industries are planned here.
Signaling and block detection of the railroad is accomplished via JMRI (Java Model Railroad Interface) and a four-screen display showing the status of each section of track and signal status is in the dispatcher's room, just before you enter the layout room. Car cards and Waybills (by Shenandoah Software) provide destinations for each piece of rolling stock (except passenger service) on the layout and are the backbone of our operating sessions.
The best way to see our updates and the entire layout is to visit our club in Castanea during our Open House season, which starts November 27th. Click on Events at the top of this page to see our complete schedule of Open Houses for 2018 - 2019. For directions to the club in Castanea, see our Contact page. We are also on FaceBook - stop by our page at https://www.facebook.com/Clinton-Central-Model-Railroad-123364467700734/, LIKE us and check out pictures of the above updates.
2016 Update
2016 saw growth on the third peninsula on both levels and more signal work. An extension to the third peninsula has new industry planned and should be complete in time for the 2017 Open House season. Several operating sessions were held earlier in the year with visitors from an NMRA group and club members. The plan is to have regularly scheduled sessions starting in the near future. If you are interested in participating in an operating session, stop by on a Tuesday evening and see what we're doing.
The best way to see our updates (and more!) is to visit our club in Castanea. The 2016 - 2017 Open House season ran from December 6th and ran to January 21, 2017. This year we had 12 different Open House dates including one Friday evening and one Sunday afternoon (see our Events page for a complete schedule of Open Houses and a flyer). For directions to the club in Castanea, see our Contact page. We are also on FaceBook - stop by our page at https://www.facebook.com/Clinton-Central-Model-Railroad-123364467700734/, LIKE us and check out more pictures of the layout and up to date postings from members of the club. If you would like to receive email notifications of club events, send an email to info@ccmrr.org and put "SUBSCRIBE" in the Subject.
2015 Update
2015 was a very busy year at the Clinton Central Model Railroad! In addition to adding two new central air conditioning units and reworking the air ducts at the station early this Spring, the construction crew has been very hard at work on the layout, primarily on the third peninsula. A new 5-track (plus run around) storage yard has been added underneath the mainline, accessible by a new helix. The beginnings of a second deck started in 2014 has been extended the entire length of the peninsula which will eventually offer space for new industries in both the front and back of the peninsula. The main line has also seen a reconfiguration in this area, including the addition of a spur which leads to the new helix and the new storage yard, and new dual track access to the storage yard in the back of the layout. Block detection was added while laying most of the new track and the 4-screen CTC display in the Dispatcher's Office now reflects all the newly monitored tracks.
A second level has been completed behind the main mountain which contains a switching yard and several small industries. Benchwork has been completed on a third deck for even more switching opportunities and storage, all of which are accessed by our original single track helix.
Several operating sessions were held earlier in the year, using car cards and waybills by Shenandoah Software representing each car and its load. With the growing number of industries appearing on the layout, more destinations requiring train service will require more operators and support staff to run more sessions in 2016. If you are interested in becoming a part of our growing model railroad, please stop by by on any Tuesday evening except the third Tuesday of each month (members only business meeting) and see how you can help.
The best way to see all of the above updates (and more!) is to visit our club in Castanea. The 2015 - 2016 Open House season starts December 8th and runs to January 16th. This year we are having 10 different Open House dates including one Friday evening and one Sunday afternoon (see our Events page for a complete schedule of Open Houses and a flyer). There is no admission charge and hot and cold foods & drinks will be available. For directions to the club in Castanea, see our Contact page. We are also on FaceBook - stop by our page at https://www.facebook.com/Clinton-Central-Model-Railroad-123364467700734/, LIKE us and check out more pictures of the layout and up to date postings from members of the club. If you would like to receive email notifications of club events, send an email to info@ccmrr.org and put "SUBSCRIBE" in the Subject.
The Clinton Central Model Railroad continues to welcome the community to our club. Several groups visited us in 2015. If your group is interested in visiting us, please send an email to info@ccmrr.org for more information.
2014 Update
2014 saw more under the tracks work than scenery improvements. But starting with scenery and some new trackage, a granary switching complex has been developed, a new coal mine has been established in the mountain on the third peninsula, as well as a second level with switching facilities to serve the new mine. Access to the second level is by the helix which is hidden in the mountain. Future plans include extending the second level the entire length of the third peninsula with several operating opportunities, and adding two more levels behind the main mountain for more industry switching and additional storage.
The Clinton Central Model Railroad went 100% DCC in May 2012. The old DC wiring was removed this past year, allowing for more reliable power distribution to all trackage on the layout. Both directions of the Mainline, along with some branch lines, were broken into "blocks" allowing for train detection and signal operation. JMRI (Java Model Railroad Interface) plays a big role in the signal operation based on block occupancy and turnout positioning, and can be seen operating in the Dispatcher's Office on a multi-screen display.
FaceBook is playing a bigger role in CCMRR updates which include videos and pictures taken at the club, as well as Open House and Train Meet announcements. If you have a FaceBook account, you can see these upates by clicking the FaceBook image below or by going here.
The Clinton Central Model Railroad continues to welcome the community to our club. Several groups visited us in 2014, including youths from the Lock Haven YMCA and the musical band Rural Route from Lock Haven. If your group is interested in visiting us, please send an email to info@ccmrr.org for more information.
2013 Update
First of all, lots of scenery updates have been made since our last Open House in January. The first and second peninsulas scenicing has been completed with many new things to look at. The mountain at the east end of the layout has grown over the new helix which serves a new second deck being built on the third peninsula. Several new industries have arrived and trackage to serve them has been laid.
Secondly, several new signal towers have sprung up along the twin-tracked mainline and are operating based on track occupancy and/or switch positioning. This all has been made possible by a huge rewiring of the layout's track electrical system and the addition of Digitraxx hardware to monitor train movement on the layout's mainline. Using JMRI's Panel Pro, a track diagram of the layout can be seen here.
Be sure to see our updated 2013 layout pictures here.
2012 Update
There has been lots more activity at the station in 2012. Looking ahead to improving the 3rd peninsula, a helix was constructed to elevate the branch line to a future second level. Tunnel Hill and Tyson Wye have taken on many changes, both in scenery and trackage. In addition, all Mainline, Central Yard, Tyson Wye, and Tunnel Hill turnouts/switches have been modified to operate under control of a new dispatcher's CTC system (which is part of JMRI's Panel Pro software), smart phones, and/or hand held tablets, not to mention hand-held throttles. Our 2012 layout updates can been seen here.
Be sure to see our updated 2011 layout pictures here.
We want to thank the hundreds of people who have shown up at least one of our 7 open houses during the 2012 - 2013 Open House Season. Next year we have 8 scheduled and we should have plenty of improvements for you to see. See our Events page for details.
