The Dallas-Fort Worth O-Scale Club formed in the mid-1980s as a home for 2-rail O-scalers of North Texas. The club has been in continuous operation since, with one member on the roster for over thirty years. The club currently meets at “the shop”, a 1650 square-foot outbuilding at the back of a residence in North Dallas. The club has two layouts. The larger “mainline” layout is 16’x36’ and features a two-track mainline, a 24’ yard, and an industrial switching area. Most track is hand-laid. The smaller traction layout is 3’ x 22’ and features working overhead trolley wire and, again, hand-laid track. Both layouts are portable, and the club takes these layouts to local and national train shows and events several times a year. When not at a show, the layouts are setup and operated regularly at the shop.

The traction layout is mostly complete. Upgrades to trackwork, overhead wire, and scenery continue regularly, but the layout is far enough along that more time is spent operating this layout than working on it. The mainline layout is still a work in progress. The trackwork is mostly complete, with the last spike of second mainline recently driven. Scenery efforts are now ramping up.

A signature feature of the mainline layout is a double-track through-truss bridge of wood and cardstock. This bridge was originally part of a magnificent O-scale club layout located on the upper floor of the Southern Pacific station in Houston, Texas in the 1950s.

Future plans: A very large and impressive roundhouse arrived at the shop in the spring of 2022. This stone-wall roundhouse, with accompanying turntable and diesel servicing facility, was originally part of Lorrell Joiner’s famous Great Southern layout in San Antonio, Texas. Integration of these items to the layout has just begun.