History

The Beginning

The Dundas Modular Railway Club was formed before the first annual Hobbyfest at St. Paul’s Church in 1993. Realizing there was enough interest to form a club, our founding members convened at the church and various members’ homes to plan the start of a model train layout. Our plan was to build a layout of modular design to eventually be able to integrate it with the layouts of other clubs who follow similar modular standards. As the layout quickly took shape over the next year, the true modular concept was abandoned for a more sectional design but the ‘modular’ name remains. As word spread about the new club in Dundas, we were extended many offers to show the layout and they have included fall fairs, conventions, layout tours, a New Years Eve fund-raiser and trips to local nursing homes.

During our weekly (currently) Wednesday club meetings, members can be found upstairs at the Legion, working on the layout, showing and teaching others various modelling skills or perhaps simply enjoying the camaraderie and fellowship.

Historical Timeline

The following is an abbreviated history of the Club, important events and milestones.

January 1993The club was officially formed and $30.00 was collected from each of the 16 – 18 members as their initiation fee.   The goal was to have a display ready for April 1993 Hobbyfest at St/ Paul’s.
AprilFor Hobbyfest our display consisted of four corners, two – 8-foot yard modules and four – 4-foot corner modules.  Thus, the Dundas and Mineral Springs Railway was created as the railroad of the new club.
1998Flea Market was held at St. Paul’s Church; this became an annual event.
2000 – 2002The Club setup the HO layout in a mall storefront at Upper James Street and Fennell Avenue in Hamilton.  For two years the club ran trains until asked to leave. Back to St. Paul’s.
June 2003Smithville for Poultryfest in the old TH&B station for the first time
JulyLayout was setup at St. Paul’s for NMRA convention tour.
October 2004Puddicombe’s Farm for the Harvest Festival with the HO layout
December 31Liuna Station for Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra fund raising with the HO layout
May 7, 2005NMRA, International Division clinics put on by DMRC members at St. Paul’s.  Workshops including: making moulds, live steam, Operation Lifesaver, painting figures, making trestles and tree making.
JuneSmithville for Poultryfest with the short HO layout
JulyCayuga for Cayuga Fest
AugustSt. Thomas for Iron Horse event
2007The Club voted to change the official name of the club to Dundas Modular Railway Club instead of Railroad Club. Club meetings moved from Tuesday to Wednesday night.
JulyThe first club BBQ was held in Dundas at Werner’s house.
FallThe Club purchased a DCC system named Prodigy.
January 2008DMRC hosted the AGM for the Golden Horseshoe Chapter of CARM
JulyClub BBQ at Werner’s. The Club BBQ was thereafter held at Werner’s every July until 2015.
February 2009Copetown Train Show, our HO layout on display
AprilIdlewyld Nursing Home, N Gauge layouts, plus HO trolley layout; Parkview Nursing Home
MayPuddicombe’s for Crazy Train Days
JuneParis Fairgrounds for a show and to Smithville for Poultryfest
January 26 2011A new Chapter begins. The Club starts to move out of St. Paul’s and into the Dundas Legion.
February 16The Club met for the first time at the Dundas Legion. A decision was made to move the meetings from Wednesday to Tuesday.
February 22The Club had its first official gathering at the Legion.
April 7Storage area at the Legion was built for the modules
April 12HO layout was setup for the first time at the Legion.
May 13HO layout was setup at the Legion Fish Fry Dinner. 
June 11,12Paris Fairgrounds for Paris Expo
June 25Smithville in the TH&B Station for Poultryfest
July 1Open House at the Legion for Canada Day Festivities
January 15 2012Paris Train Show, the club took one table to let people know about the club
January 21Robbie Burns dinner at the Legion.  The club looked after the dinner.
February & MarchFlea Market and Open House
May 15The Club got rid of four 8-foot modules and two 4-foot modules. The smaller layout would be the focus for the club.
June 9, 10Paris Expo with the HO layout
June 23Smithville for Poultryfest
201320th anniversary of the Club. Pins were designed by Jim Lee.
February 92013 Flea Market at the Legion. A decision was made to move the next Flea Market to the fall of 2014.
MarchOpen House, 20th Anniversary of the Club celebration
June 8, 9HO layout at the Paris Spring Fair
June 11A new DMRC executive began their duties. The executive consisted of a superintendent, assistant, secretary, and treasurer.
JunePoultryfest in the Smithville railway station (HO short layout)
July 1Canada Day Open House. Members of the club made a short presentation and gave the Legion a donation of $1200.
September 7Parkview LTC visit
September 21Club members go for a train excursion in Waterloo
October 4Idlewyld LTC visit
October 18Dinner to celebrate our 20th anniversary at Tucker’s Experience in Burlington
November 2HOMES Tour, HO layout setup at the Legion
November 7RBG Train Show. Truck rented to take the HO layout to the show.
DecemberSetup the N scale Christmas layout in insurance office on King St. in Dundas.
January 11 2014Paris Train Show
February 8Flea Market at the Legion
April 14St. Joseph’s Villa visit
April 23The Meadows LTC visit
May 23Grace Villa LTC visit
May 24Platelayers meeting at the Legion
June 7, 8Paris Fairgrounds Spring Fair and Tracker Pull – HO layout on display
June 28Smithville in the train station for Poultryfest.  After the Paris and Smithville shows, the club wondered if it was worth the time and money to attend these shows. Maybe we should do more shows at the Legion.
July 1Canada Day Open House and Legion BBQ. We had a very good day with over $110 in the collection jar. A donation of $1200 was given to the Legion president.
October 17Club dinner in the Wentworth Room
November 9Ancaster Train Show
November 13Victoria Gardens visit with N scale layouts
November 15Fall Flea Market – We moved the show to the fall because of wintry weather in February.
March 24 2015A decision was made by the club to move and setup the David Lee layout in the David Braley Health Sciences Building in Hamilton.
March 26Blackadar Nursing Home visit with N scale layouts
April 15Club begins work on taking down David Lee’s layout
May 14Parkview LTC visit with N scale layouts
May 22Club visits St. Joseph’s Villa
June 10Club visits Shalom Village
June 24Club visits Grace Villa
June 27Poultryfest in Smithville at the TH&B Museum Station. Maple Leaf Pancake House. Small layouts instead of the main HO layout. This was the last year the club went to Smithville.
July 1Canada Day at the Legion and our Open House.
July 7BBQ at Gord’s. Thank you for hosting us over the previous 8 years Werner.
July 23Club visits Meadows LTC
September 8Club visits Idlewyld LTC
September 25, 26Fall Open House took place during Beef on a Bun night at the Legion.
October 15Club visits Victoria Gardens LTC
October 16Club annual dinner in the Wentworth Room at the Dundas Legion
November 14Club Flea Market
2016Entire year! The Club worked on the David Lee layout at the David Braley Health Sciences Centre each Monday.  Crews worked on putting together parts of the layout.
JanuaryClub attended two shows: Paris Train Show and the Ancaster Show.
Winter / SpringClub visited Blackadar Nursing Home and St. Joseph’s Villa
February 26, 27Open House at the Legion (Beef on a Bun on the Fri. night)
April 1 to 3Spring and Garden Show at Canadian Warplane Heritage (helping the Burlington Club)
May 28Platelayers meeting at the Legion with the Club’s HO layout on display
July 1Canada Day Open House at the Legion
July 5BBQ at Will’s
October 7Club’s 4th annual dinner at the Legion
September – NovemberClub worked on revamping the N scale Christmas layout
NovemberAncaster Train Show with the Club’s City layout on display
November 26Annual Flea market
December 8N scale winter layout setup in Brokerlink office in Dundas
January 2017Paris Train Show, a few Club members displayed their N scale layouts. Ancaster Show to which the Club took the trolley layout
FebruaryBurlington Train Show, the City layout was setup
MarchSpring Open House at the Legion with the Fish Fry dinner
March 31 – April 2Spring & Home Show at the Canadian Warplane Heritage. The Club helped the Burlington Club for the 2nd year in a row.
SpringClub visits several LTC facilities: Blackadar, The Meadows and Parkview
April 22CARM workshop at the Legion on building culverts
July 1Canada Day Open House
July 18BBQ at Will’s
November 12Ancaster Train Show, Club displays a small N scale layout
NovemberClub dinner at the Legion
December 2Dundas Train Show and Sale at the Legion
January 28 2018Ancaster Train Show, Club displays a small N scale layout
February 10Burlington Model Train Club’s Train Show at St. John’s Church in Burlington. The City layout and the new N scale layout were on display.
March 29Visit the Meadows LTC with layouts
April 19Visit to St. Joseph’s Villa in Dundas
May 10Wentworth Lodge visit
June 14Visit Blackadar Nursing Home with layouts
July 1Canada Day Open House at the Legion in Dundas
July 31Club BBQ at Will’s. First year that spouses/friends attended.
August 14Club held its first Fix It Night (the second Tuesday of the month became a Fix It Night).
September 17Club visits Idlewyld LTC with layouts
September 22Club visits Halton County Radial Railway Museum
September 29, 30Greater Toronto Train Show at the Brampton Fairgrounds.  The new N scale layout was taken.
October 25Club visits Parkview LTC
November 11Ancaster Train Show
November 15Victoria Gardens visit and Children’s Charity Event at Carmen’s
November 24Club Train Show and Sale. We had a very successful show.
November 29Club Dinner at Tuckers Market Place with the Burlington Model Train Club
January 20 2019Paris Train Show – We had a table, but we did not attend due to bad weather.
January 27Hamilton-Ancaster Train Show, breakfast at The Egg and I, then over to the show to setup on one table
March 9Burlington Model Train Show, N scale layout and the City layout
April 23The Dundas Historical Society came to visit our club. A presentation was made about the history of the club.  Visitors then had a good look at the layouts (N scale and HO).
May 23Wentworth Lodge in Dundas to share small train layouts
June 17Club visits the Preston Model Railway Club in Kitchener.
July 1Annual Canada Day Open House at the Legion in Dundas
July 23Club BBQ at Will’s
October 5, 6Greater Toronto Train Show at the Brampton Fairgrounds – Club setup the N scale layout for the 2-day show
October 29Preston Model Railway Club visit to Dundas Club
November 10Hamilton Ancaster Train Show – Club showed the small N scale layout
November 23Dundas Train Show and Sale – Our annual show at the Legion brought in about 260 people.
December 5Christmas Dinner at Tucker’s Marketplace with the Burlington club. 20 members from Dundas and 31 from Burlington
January 19 2020For the second year in a row, bad weather cancelled the clubs visit to the Paris Train Show.
January 26Ancaster Train Show
March 3Setup the HO layout at 2 p.m. and a running night took place in the evening.  It was a good evening, and little did the members know that it would be the last running night for many months because of the COVID 19 shutdown of the country and the world.
June 13At 8 a.m. our first rail fanning time took place with 10 members present and 2 trains
June 16Our Tuesday night gathering took place at the Snake Road rail bridge. Most Tuesdays after this date, the club met at the Snake Road bridge.
July 26Club executive met at the Dundas Driving Park at 10:30 a.m. to discuss several topics.
August 4The executive has spent a few months fine tuning the club by-laws.   Today the train club passed a motion to accept the new by-laws.
August 25At our first meeting at the Legion since March 2020, the club heard reasons why a new HO layout should be built from Jake. After some discussion, the club voted to build a new HO layout.
September 1The HO layout was setup for the first time since early March.  At the end of October 2020, the Legion was closed again as we headed into a second wave of the pandemic.
2021As the new year started, the Legion was still closed, so no gatherings of the Club took place.
June 15The first official gathering of the Club happened at the Snake Road bridge.  Each Tuesday saw a gathering at the bridge.
July 17The Legion opened its doors on after the third wave of the virus had subsided.
July 20The club set up the HO layout in the afternoon. However, they had to wait until July 27th to run trains in the afternoon from 2 to 5 p.m.
November 30A new HO scale train layout was discussed.
February 15 2022The Dundas Legion opened again and we setup the N scale layout for a run night.
March 1We had an HO run night. There were 18 members out.  This was the best night in a long time!
March 8Fixit night and Russ brought a new HO module to show everyone.
March 21Three more modules arrived for the new layout.
March 22Trolley layout was setup for checking and the planning committee met to discuss several things about the new layout (tracks, switches, control systems).
March 29Trolley running night was a great success.
AprilRuss and some helpers completed building the new modules and brought them to the Legion.
June 9A decision was made to take the old layout to the dump after stripping it of reusable stuff. A decision was also made to buy the NCE system.
June 23The new HO layout was put together for the first time. Foam boards were glued to each module. There are 12 modules that form a large rectangle.  There are 3 carts that we stack 4 modules on each one.
July 26BBQ at Will’s
JulyThe Club does not take part in the Canada Day celebrations at the Legion as the new layout is not ready and old one has not been used for a while. Note: July 28, the club has been meeting on Thursdays during the summer as the Legion has reduced hours. The afternoon sessions last from 1 to 4.
August 25The old layout was removed from the Legion.
September 6The Club meets again on Tuesday nights with work on the new layout in the afternoon.
September 20Cork is glued to the foam on the HO layout.
September 24The N scale layout is setup for the H.O.M.E.S. Tour at the Eva Rothwell Centre on Wentworth St. N.
November 1The first track was installed on the new HO layout.
November 8More cork, rail and wiring were installed.
December 6Club dinner was held at the Winchester Arms.
December 20First run night on the new layout using tracks 1 and 2
202330th anniversary of the Club
January 3Our first HO running night of the year was well attended.  The decision was made to have more HO running nights (maybe one every two weeks). Tracks 1 and 2 were open for running.
April 15Our Model Train Show and Sale for 2023 took place on this day. The paid attendance was 240.
April 25This is the first HO run night with ballast on tracks 1 and 2. Trains seemed to be working well.  There were about 24 members present.
April 29The Platelayers Symposium took place in Brampton. The N scale group took two bell ends and two connecting pieces for display. 
May 25The Legion asked the club to switch meeting nights to Thursday for the duration of the summer.
May 28On this Sunday, the Club hosted the Platelayers meeting at the Legion from 12:30 to 4:30.
June 1The new HO layout has tracks 1 and 2 painted and ballasted.  Tracks 1 to 3 have been wired and most backdrops have been attached.
July 1Club had an open house during the Canada Day festivities at the Legion.  It was the first show for the new HO layout.  About a dozen club members brought all kinds of trains to run.  The layout was well populated with trains on all lines.
September 6The Legion asked the Club to switch to Wednesdays.
October 11On this HO running night, all 3 tracks were operational.  There were 17 members present and a few guests.
January 2024The Club decided to have a running night every two weeks. Work continued on the HO layout with the focus now on scenery. 
April 27, 28The club setup the N scale layout at the Great British Train Show in Brampton. The show was a success, and the N scale layout was selected as the third best overall layout.  Club members who attended the show: Keith, Roy, Phil, Marcus, Tony, Thomas and Charles.
May 23The club moved to Thursday night for the summer.  The Legion was closed on other days.
July 1Keith became the new superintendent of the club. He selected Roy as the new assistant superintendent. The club setup up the HO and N scale layouts for visitors who came to the Legion for the annual Canada Day celebration.
September 4The club returned to Wednesday meetings.
October 5The N scale layout was setup at the Eva Rothwell Centre on Wentworth St. North as part of the annual H.O.M.E.S. Layout Tour.
November 2Annual Club Show and Sale at the Legion.
DecemberHO running nights were held on most Wednesdays. Christmas dinner was held on December 3rd at the Winchester Arms.
2025From January to June, the HO layout is up each week for work and running, while the N layout is setup once a month.
April 3A very sad day. Mert passed away, in his 92nd year. He was the founder of the Dundas Modular Railway Club back in the early 1990’s, gathering a group of model train enthusiasts to meet in the kindergarten room in St. Paul’s United Church in Dundas, Ontario.
July to September The Club continued to work on the HO layout most Wednesdays.
November 22The Club held its annual Train Show and Sale at the Dundas Legion.
December 13Club Christmas dinner in the Wentworth Room of the Legion. 
January, February 2026Club met a few times on Tuesdays before switching back to Wednesdays.
MarchThe N scale layout was taken to the Ancaster Train Show.  Planning started on a new N scale layout. Both the HO and the N scale layouts are setup each week.
April – JulyThe Club decided to continue to meet on Wednesdays. Each week, both the HO and the N scale layouts were setup for running.
July 1On Canada Day, the Club setup the HO layout and there was an Open House from 2 to 8 p.m.
August 8Club BBQ was held at Eric’s with his G scale trains in action.