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The Beginning
The Prince William County Model Railroad Club was founded by a small group of model
railroaders in 1991. A sheet of paper hanging in a local hobby shop in Dale City, Virginia
announced:
"Anyone interested in starting a model railroad club, please leave your name and
number here."
And so began the creation of the Prince William County Model Railroad Club (PWMRC).
Five members started meeting at each other's homes and word of the club spread quickly and
membership began to grow.
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The First Layout
In June of 1991, the same local hobby shop that posted the club notice offered some
space in a back room to build a layout. The members quickly organized, created a charter
and established a treasury and formally called themselves the Prince William County Model
Railroad Club.
The first layout was a 16 foot double mainline layout in a dog bone shape. This
entertained most of the membership for some time. The layout was moved in 1992 to new
quarters in the hobby shop after the shop owner acquired a larger store up the street.
From 1992 to 1993 the layout continued to develop with the incorporation of a large yard,
several sidings for industries and a spur leading up to a second level to be worked on
later. Several Saturday sessions brought in many onlookers as scenery and track work was
completed. Unfortunately, due to rising rent, the PWMRC was asked to remove their layout
in the spring of 1993. The layout was dismantled and the club began meeting in member's
homes after that.
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The Modular Layout
In Fall 1994, the PWMRC was approached about the use of a building in Olde Town
Manassas for a club layout. The club initiated talks with Historic Manassas, Inc. Also at
that time, the 1st Annual Manassas Railway Festival was in the planning stages. PWMRC was
asked to provide a modular train display for the festival. Following National Model
Railroad Assoc. standards, the modular railroad construction began in February 1995. The
club unveiled its modular railroad at the 1995 Manassas Railway festival. Eighteen modules
made by club members were hooked together for the one day event. The layout featured two
mainlines and used conventional cab control for model train operations. The Railfest
marked the beginning of a new era for PWMRC. The members enjoyed the modular concept and
voted to do more shows.
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The Club Thrives
By the beginning of 1996, the prospect of occupying a building in Manassas had fallen
through. However, the club's interest in modules had grown and as a result, participation
in professional and community shows was on the rise. PWMRC was traveling from Timonium,
Maryland to Richmond, Virginia with their modules. At each show, more people became
interested in the club and membership began to soar. 1997 proved to be the busiest year to
date with 13 shows and several railfan excursions, as well as the business meetings being
held twice a month. The club also entered the digital age with the purchase of digital
command control equipment (DCC) from Digitrax®. DCC enabled more trains to run at one
time in different directions on the same track without controlling electrical blocks.
Members were now able to operate scheduled train meets at passing sidings with ease.
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The Historic Quantico Depot
With each passing year, our club grows in numbers, skills, and ambition. We have a
busy calendar of modular shows scheduled including participation in the Boy
Scout Train Show held each year in Dale City, Virginia. With more than
110 HO modules, it is one of the largest modular layouts in the world. In addition, the club has
entered into a lease with Virginia Railway Express to occupy part of the
historic Quantico Depot in Quantico, Virginia. We are building a
high-quality permanent layout in the Depot. We open our layout to the public
on a monthly basis and for special events. Each month we welcome new
members into PWMRC.
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Our Purpose
Our purpose has always been to provide a forum for model railroaders to join, learn
and teach the hobby of model railroading to each other and to the public. But more
importantly, it is an organization that likes to have fun! Come join us -- you can e-mail us or get a copy of our membership
application.
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PWMRC is a 501(c) (7) Non-Profit Organization
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