Welcome to the Los Angeles Division, NMRA
Love trains? So do we! We are a group of model railroaders in Ventura and Los Angeles counties who share our love of trains and modeling by educating people and promoting the hobby of model railroading, helping all modelers - from beginners to experts - build their skills and capabilities, and holding in-person and virtual events.
Please look around the site to learn more about the Los Angeles Division, the National Model Railroad Association (NMRA), local rail-related museums, groups, and hobby shops, and upcoming local, regional and national model railroad events.
Spotlight On The Great Train Show in Costa Mesa
February brought two runnings of The Great Train Show to the area, the first in San Bernardino and the second in Costa Mesa. Along with the many vendor tables, these events showcase the awesome modeling skill and creativity of our community, ranging from Z scale to old tinplate trains and a LEGO layout. Enjoy the photos below from the Costa Mesa show.
Text and photos by the LA Division Webmaster, Mark Fischer,
We need your help! If you have photos of a model you are proud of, a cool train-related thing you saw in the area or on a trip, or have some interesting news, please contact us so we can share it with the rest of the world.
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Upcoming Events
Some of the upcoming railroad-related events over the next month or two include:
- March 7 & 8 - Bakersfield Model Train Show, Bakersfield
- March 7 - Los Angeles Model Railroad Society Open House and Swap Meet, Harbor City
- March 14 - Southern California Railway Museum: Swap Meet & Pacific Electric Day, Perris
- March 14 - Los Angeles Division Annual Member Meeting and Dinner, Cerritos
- March 22 - TTOS/SP Division Meet, Anaheim
- March 28 - Santa Susana Railroad Historical Society Swap Meet and Open House, Santa Susana
- March 28 - Golden Empire Historical and Modeling Society Open House, Bakersfield.
- April 11, 12, 18 &19 - Southern California Railway Museum: A Day Out With Thomas, Perris
- April 12 - TTOS/Southwestern Division Train Meet, Arcadia
- April 26 - TTOS/SP Division Meet, Anaheim
The Los Angeles Division
We are a group of more than 200 railroad modelers in Los Angeles and Ventura counties in southern California. We are one of 150 local groups, called "divisions", of the National Model Railroad Association (NMRA) across the world. The Los Angeles Division is part of the Pacific Southwest Region of the NMRA, which includes three other divisions covering Southern California, Arizona, and Southern Nevada.
We hold a monthly virtual meeting on the first Thursday of every month at 7pm. These informal "Sand House Chats" are a round-table where members can share information and talk about whatever interests them.
All Division members receive the "LA Division Coupler," the Division's quarterly newsletter via email.
In addition to our website, we share information on multiple social media sites.
- The Los Angeles Division, NMRA Facebook page (a public page that anyone can "like" to follow)
- The NMRA Los Angeles Division - A 501(c)(3) non-profit organization Facebook group (a private group for Division members)
- The Los Angeles Division, NMRA Instagram page (Coming Soon!)
The NMRA
The National Model Railroad Association is a 501(c)(3) not for profit educational organization that was founded in 1935. It is a world-wide organization with over 16,000 active members, associates, families and clubs dedicated to the hobby of scale model railroading in all its facets, supporting a hobby of many diverse interests that all relate to the greater world of trains and railroads.