PCR Layout Design and Operations meet, January 31 - February 1, 2026 in Santa Clara

My favorite model railroad event, the PCR (Pacific Coast Region) Layout Design and Operations meet, is returning to the Santa Clara depot in 2026. In a reversal from the usual schedule, the clinics will happen at the Depot on Sunday, February 1 2026. Invites to operating sessions at local layouts will be the day on Saturday, January 31, 2026. Like always, the meet's a mix of talks about design and operation, layout visits, and opportunities to try model railroad operations on layouts in the Bay Area. As in previous years, you can attend virtually if you're not in the area or want to enjoy the presentations from your home.

Get more information at www.bayldops.com. Buy your tickets in advance at EventBrite. Virtual tickets give you access to watch the presentations and ask questions via a Zoom video conference. In-person tickets also include the Zoom link in case of last-minute travel problems or illness.

Like past years, we'll also be offering free layout design and operations consulting, in Santa Clara or virtually. Check the website to sign up for a session.

Bruce Morden is again running the layout design challenge. This year's challenge is to design a model railroad based on San Jose's Lentzen Ave. roundhouse and engine terminal. This is a great chance to think about how you'd design a layout based only on an engine terminal. What would you do when you're only moving locomotives around? How would you handle staging? What would an operating session be like?

You'll also be able to think about the era to model in the challenge. San Jose's Lentzen Ave. roundhouse handled South Pacific Coast narrow gauge and Southern Pacific standard gauge locomotives simultaneously before 1906. The site supported San Jose's heavy commute and freight operations throughout the 20th century. In 2004, the site turned into Caltrain's Centralized Equipment and Maintenance Facility (CEMOF), handling maintenance and repair of the commute fleet and the new electric trainsets. Any of those eras could make a wonderful small model railroad.

As in past years, we'll be inviting all attendees to an operating session on a local model railroad. For folks who have never done operations, this is a great way to gain some experience in model railroad operations, meet some of the local operations community, and find out how to join other operating sessions. For experienced model railroaders, this is a wonderful chance to operate on model railroads you've always wanted to visit.

I love the Layout Design and Operations meet because it pulls together a fun group of folks: interested in modeling specific locations, railroad history, imitating the real railroads' operating practices, and just interested in understanding what the real railroads were about. It's also a great meet if you're curious about any of these topics. The invites to operate on local model railroads got me interested in model railroad operations, and helped me understand the differences between running trains on my own versus working with a dozen other people to get trains moving on a large layout. If you're considering a new layout, or thinking about operations on an existing layout, you can sign up for time to talk with others about what you're building and what options you might consider.

We'll see you in Santa Clara next month!