Welcome to Our Website

Indiana Large Scale Railroaders is a group of enthusiasts, hobbyists and collectors who enjoy large scale model trains. The club was formed in 1989 as "The Indiana Big Train Engineers".  Now called the "Indiana Large Scale Railroaders", the club today has around 80 members located primarily, but not exclusively, in Indiana. A more detailed history can be found here.

Model railroading combines many interests and can engage you and your family in a life-long activity. Because most of our railroads are in the garden, the hobby frequently is shared by couples.

The goal of our club is to provide information, inspiration and creative examples for the large scale model railroader in a fun and relaxed environment. ILSR members share experience and knowledge by exhibiting their layouts, conducting workshops and attending regular club meetings.

ILSR's members build and enjoy several types of large scale railroads, including:

Outdoor Garden Railways -

A Modular Layout -

and Indoor Operating Railroads -

What Size Are The Trains?

We have included some full scale members and spectators in the photos above in order to give you some relative notion of what we mean by "Large Scale". But, in order to answer the size question, and, since we model in several scales, we really need to talk about track gauge, which is the primary constant in our club. Virtually everyone in the club runs their trains on track that is technically designated "Gauge 1", or commonly called "G Scale". It actually measures 45 millimeters (1.77 inches) in gauge, the distance between the rails:

We call them "Large Scale" because, in the model railroad world, the most popular scales are HO, which is 1:87.1 scale and N, which is 1:160 scale. Our scales, the dimensional ratio of the model to the actual train, generally range from 1:20.3 to 1:32 but that is a topic that needs further explanation. Here is a general overview and here is the National Model Railroad Association's official recommendation.

Club Meetings

Our club holds meetings about six times a year on Saturday afternoons. Most meetings offer a workshop subject or a layout tour to help members build their own layouts or improve existing ones. See the column at the left, or use the "Contact" page, for information about the next meeting. Visitors are always welcome.

Special Events

Special events are scheduled several times throughout the year and are always a highlight for our club. These events provide an opportunity to share ideas, socialize and gain a greater appreciation for model railroading. Some past highlights include restoring the model train display at Riley Hospital and creating the garden railroad display at "Orchard in Bloom", both located in Indianapolis. 

Each year the club takes part in the "Multi-Club Bus Tour" wherein area garden railroad clubs charter tour buses for a one-day tour of several outstanding garden railroads in nearby states. In 2008 ILSR hosted clubs from Cincinnati, Dayton and Columbus, Ohio and they toured some of our finest garden railroads.

There is also an Annual Club Banquet, generally in May, and a Club Picnic in the summer.

Dues and Newsletter

Annual dues are $20 and include a spouse or other family member. Dues are payable each year on January 1st and cover the cost of producing the club newsletter (sample copy here) and other general business. The outstanding newsletter will be mailed to you bi-monthly. It includes articles of interest to large scale model railroaders and contains a calendar of events, including area train shows and conventions. You can click on the links above to see a sample copy. Your membership will include online access to the current issue.

More Membership Information

If you have further questions about our club, or if you are ready to join, go to the top of the page and click "Contact or Join" for all the necessary information.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Former Member's Collection For Sale -  Karen  Dippel has asked the club for help in selling her late husband David Dippel's G Scale collection. Click here for details.  (Posted 8-30-2010)

More Information about Jingle Rails - Large scale railroading is coming to the Eiteljorg Museum in Indianapolis during November, December and into January. Volunteers from the hobby of model railroading are needed, please get your information submitted soon. More d etails here. (Updated 8-26-2010)

NEWS

New Member  -  Please welcome James Davis to the Indiana Large Scale Railroaders. He lives in Linden, IN and has an indoor railroad. Hope to see you at an upcoming event, James.  (Posted 8-30-2010)

ILSR Newsletter Online -  The excellent ILSR Sept/Oct Newsletter has been posted in the Member Pages. It is particularly spectacular in full color! Don't have a password yet? Click here for instructions.  (Posted 8-26-2010)

Watts Open House - The very popular Watts Train Shop Open House will be Saturday October 30, 2010 from 2 to 4 pm (or come early and do some Christmas shopping). Dave Watts plans to stage a locomotive pulling contest between several brands of locomotives. You don't want to miss this one! (Updated 8-24-2010)

We had a great Club Picnic Sat Aug 21, 2010 - Pictures here. (Posted 8-21-2010)

Brock Open House - All the Pix - The weather cooperated much more for the August 7 Open House at the Brock's. A large number of members enjoyed the chat, the great food (thanks Vickie) and the spectacular mountain railroad. Photos here. (Posted 8-15-2010)

Beck Open House -  The Open House at the Beck's was another hot one but the turnout was excellent.  Indoor railroad pix here. Pix of both outdoor layouts are here. (Updated 7-31-2010)

Welcome New Members -  Dan & Donna Perrott of Indianapolis. They found out about ILSR at Watts and learned more on the website. They have both O and G scale collections but no layout yet. They are interested in getting involved with the Modular Group.  We hope to meet them at an event soon. (Posted 7-30-2010)

Sever Open House Pix Posted -  The Open House at the Sever's was an excellent chance to meet some great people and see a truly outstanding layout. Pix here.  (Posted 7-2-2010)

New Member  -  Please welcome Philip Conklin to the Indiana Large Scale Railroaders. Philip lives in Carmel and has a garden railroad with a water feature. Hope to see you at an upcoming event, Philip.  (Posted 6-30-2010)

ILSR Newsletter Online -  The excellent ILSR July/August Newsletter has been posted in the Member Pages. It is particularly spectacular in full color! Don't have a password yet? Click here for instructions.  (Posted 6-30-2010)

Strawberry Trains -  The ILSR Modular Group was invited back again this year to set up a train layout at the June 12, 2010 Upland, Indiana Strawberry Festival. It was well received andis a good example of setting up with limited space. Check out the photos that Mike Smith sent here.  (Posted 6-16-2010)

Track Raising -  The "track raising" at the home of Lance and Vickie Brock was a great success today. Seven ILSR members braved a humid and threatening day to get all the way from rough roadbed to running trains. Pix and story here. 6-6-2010

Two Layout Open Houses - The excellent Bowman and Hunter layouts provided a great Saturday May 22nd tour. Click the names above for pix. 5-30-2010

For Sale - At the Banquet, Geoff Schwartz announced that an acquaintance is selling her late husband's G Scale collection. Call Geoff (765-998-7953) for more information. 5-18-2010

"F" and "LS" Scales? - At the Banquet, Jeff Carter mentioned that the National Model Railroad Association (NMRA) is once again looking at setting standards for our part of the hobby. I was surprised to learn that we are modeling in "F" and "LS" scales. Check it out here. And if you would like to help the NMRA write these standards, or enjoy other NMRA benefits, click here. 5-18-2010

ILSR Annual Banquet - We had a great banquet Saturday, May 15 at the Golden Corral in Noblesville, IN. The 63 members and guests that attended enjoyed  greeting friends old and new. As a bonus, there were a number of great door prizes. An excellent railroad talk by David Wilcox concluded the evening. Pix and info here. 5-18-2010