Model Railroading > Puget Sound Model Railroad club in Tacoma WA

Wednesday the lovely Mrs Murphy and I visited
this layout in a Tacoma history museum.  It is a very
well executed layout depicting the history of the area.
it appears they hold operations because there are car card boxes,
and there was a dispatcher panel inside one of the loops.

I am into operations, and I was hoping to discuss that subject with the
only docent there, but he was tied up with another visitor for an hour, and I 
was not about to interrupt, nor was I willing to hang around any longer so I left
without any further knowledge of their operating scheme.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/28/26 09:05 by WrongWayMurphy.

---

---

---

Pretty much all of the structures are scratch built and the model
of the Tacoma depot is astounding.  It is behind a glass and I was getting
a lot of glare in my photo of it so I neglected to take a picture of it.
I did post a photo of the real thing on the western board.

---

---

Looks great, but I don't see any MKT :-). Wingomann and I passed through there Sunday on the way to the Cubs/M's game (19 - 2 Cubs) but didn't have time, or think to stop by. Next time. 

Wow, just wow!

Funny you mentioned the docent. I've been to train shows,
car museums, guided tours, etc. where one guy monopolizes the 
vendor or guide forever, usually blathering about their own experiences or knowledge.
Bill in Ft Worth

Some of the best scenery I have seen on a "Club" or "Museum" layout for sure........amazing....
I would love to see a photo or credits to the folks who did the spectacular scenery work on this layout!....thats  a lot of work!!

I was a regular operator there in the 2006-2012 timeframe, but my first time operating there was back in 2003. Even back in 2003 they had given up on the car cards and were using JMRI generated switch lists. Not sure when they made that switch. I'm trying to remember the operating method, but I believe it was a timetable and train order operations and there were operators at strategic points to issue train orders. The layout represents the NP mainline from the Nelson Bennett tunnel on the northwest side of Tacoma through downtown and the Head-of-Bay Yard, Reservation tower and on up to Auburn, then up the hill through Kanaskat and Lester to the Stampede Tunnel. Also includes the UP/MILW joint mainline from Auburn to Reservation and the Tacoma station, as well as the Tacoma Belt Line/Muni port switching area. There are upper and lower staging yards in a back corner for Portland and Pasco, as well as more staging for Seattle beyond Auburn.
The operating sessions were fantastic. My only real gripe with the design is the "crawl under" access to the front aisle that is a royal PITA that must be used regularly in a ops session. The lighting they use is horrible for photography too, but that has more to do with the museum than the club (Puget Sound Model Railroad Engineers). The museum does a railroad history festival during the last two weeks of the year with additional layouts and displays that is popular.

Ted Curphey
Ontario, OR



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/29/26 00:34 by funnelfan.

---

---

---

Everything about the layout is a fairly accurate representation of 1950's Tacoma and environs. Head of Bay Yard was a busy place and those switch jobs were the favorite jobs. A lot of locals originated there. The Lester Viaduct far up on the Green River Valley was a icon of the Stampede Pass line. The last photo shows Reservation Tower where UP trains entered the NP for the trip to Portland. There was a temporary bi-polar red/green LED here to represent a train order signal. If red you would hold here and call dispatch for new orders.

Ted Curphey
Ontario, OR

---

---

---

I found this on an model railroad operations website.

Like I said, the depot model is exquisite.

---

---

Great report, looks like a great operation.
The design looks great without background dividers and all that, kinda like an open office design.
t4p.

Really nice but where are T&P box cars ?