All Aboard the Diablo Valley Lines:
Celebrating its 65th anniversary, The Walnut Creek Model Railroad Society started in 1948 with a group of men with an interest in the hobby, meeting at each other’s homes. They also displayed a 4×8 foot portable model railroad layout at special events such as the annual Walnut Festival held each Fall in a city park. The first permanent railroad came alive in an old Southern Pacific Railroad freight shed moved onto a leased site near the Walnut Creek Southern Pacific Depot in 1950. This location served to house an impressive model railroad layout of 20×40 feet until 1970 when city construction forced the Society to relocate twice in as many years. The Society solved the clubhouse problem by reaching an agreement with the City of Walnut Creek for the present site in Larkey Park. This structure became the first in California (and one of a very few in the world!) to be designed and built specifically to house a model railroad. The actual construction work was finished in two years by members of the Society at no cost to the City. Upon completion in 1974 the building was donated to the City and the building of the railroad commenced.
Commemorate: Families can ‘ride’ the Diablo Valley Lines during their whistle stop show, featuring hundreds of model trains representing the mid-20th century through today, traveling over 4,300 feet of track on one of the world’s most mountainous model railroad layouts. Dispatched by two Walnut Creek Model Railroad Society members, the show includes a dramatic sunset and night scenes with a rainy thunderstorm, a street railway with trolley cars, big freight yards and a large passenger terminal. The elaborate 34×56 foot layout includes a composite of the mountainous area of the Western United States, bridges, tunnels, terrain from desert to snow covered mountains, towns, train yards, electric street cars, wind turbine, ski lift gondola and more. More than 200 train cars and 50 steam and diesel engines are in operation during the show.
