All aboard with the Thames Valley Central Model Railroad club

The Thames Valley Central Model Railroad club’s setup at the clubhouse in Thorndale.

By Nancy Abra

The railroad was instrumental in putting Thorndale on the map almost 170 years ago. It was the foundation for the growth of Thorndale, linking the community to regional markets for trade and goods produced in this area.

With the historical ties to the railroad, it seems only fitting that the Thames Valley Central Model Railroad (TVCMR) club has called Thorndale its home since 1999.

The Thames Valley Central Model Railroad club, an offshoot of the East London Railroad Club, was founded in 1965. This year marks their 60th anniversary. In the early years, the club had many homes, mostly temporary, some used for storage. Club members would take turns hosting meetings and building modules in their basements or in their garages. Their clubhouse located at the Thorndale Fair Grounds has been a permanent home for their incredible model railroad setup and meetings.

“Our layout is 12 feet by 60 feet long, double decked and miles of scale track, in its own building,” said club president Wayne Thornton. “Now, things have come a long way from toy train days, as this layout is controlled by WiFi remote throttles connecting to a bank of computers that send the commands out to the rails to find each locomotive and perform the instructions sent to it by the operator/engineer. So many members can run trains independently controlled at the same time.”

Thornton said they have been working on the main upper-level station scene, installing brightness-controlled LEDs, adding to the realism and visual appeal.

“We are also looking to add some animation with level road grade crossing signals triggered by approaching trains and shut off after the train has passed,” Thornton said. “The layout continues to evolve as miniature technology develops and grows.”

The Thames Valley Central Model Railroad club is one of the many community groups listed on www.ilovethorndale.ca/community/. For more detailed information, check their website at tvcmrc.org. The club usually meets every Tuesday evening. Any groups, organizations or interested individuals that would like to check out the TVCMR setup can contact Thornton at cwasatahal@yahoo.ca.