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. 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.

Indiana LSR'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 an entire section to explain.

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 "Four Club Bus Tour" wherein three of four clubs charter tour buses for a one-day tour of several outstanding garden railroads in Indianapolis, Columbus, Dayton or Cincinnati, Ohio. In 2008 we hosted clubs from those cities and they toured some of our finest garden railroads.

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.

NEWS

Winter Train - Don and Norma Davis winter in Arizona but that doesn't mean they leave garden railroading behind. Don sent pictures of his answer - see them here. 2-8-2010 

Real Trains - Bud Hunter has answered the call for member's favorite real train pictures. They include a fascinated family member. Check them out in the "Member's Only" section here. If you are a member and don't yet have access, information is here. 2-3-2010

Modules Movie - Randy Banks has provided a movie of the ILSR Modular Layout display at the January 1-3, 2010 Fairgrounds Train Show. 2-3-2010

Welcome to New Members David and Lisa Grounds - They are from Bloomfield and found out about us at the train show and through "Garden Railways" magazine. We will look forward to meeting them at future ILSR events. 01-21-2010

All the Facts - In a story brought to you exclusively on the ILSR web site, it has been discovered exactly what Ron Loudermilk does during his winter hiatus. We have long suspected that he spends his time just lying around in the warm south Florida sun, now we have photographic proof:

Much more here about this "Drama in North Fort Myers". 1-16-2010

LSR Newsletter Online -  The excellent ILSR January / February Newsletter has been posted in the Member Pages. The Hunter's Christmas Party is particularly spectacular in full color! Don't have a password yet? Click here for instructions. 12-30-09I

Another Great Christmas Train - Rex Bowman mastered the intricacies of YouTube and sent us a movie of the Bowman Christmas Train. See it in action - here. 12-24-09 

Great Santa Train Story - Bud Hunter sent in his Santa Train video and pictures with a really great story about the family side of Christmas. Don't miss it - here. 12-13-09 

Another Signal Site - "Now that you are advertising signal sites, this (IP Trains) is a site particularly interesting to me.  Not for the faint of heart but will provide turnout and block signaling that can be very prototypical.  For the true modeler they can provide kits too." Andy Chester 12-9-09

Self Contained Signals - Several folks were interested in the South Bend Signals large scale semaphore (above) that I showed at the Hunter's party. You can find out more here. 12-8-09

I have also discovered another entry in the large scale, self-contained signal business, coming soon from Z-Stuff for Trains. "They are are very close, but probably not in December. They will most likely be January." per Dennis Zander, Principal. 12-8-09

Recipes - We all enjoy those goodies that show up at our various events. The frequent question is, "May I have the recipe?" Now we have a spot to find those goodies, thanks to a suggestion by Pattie. So let's see them folks. We can publish them in the Newsletter then keep them here for reference. 12-7-09

Our Final Fling of 2009 - was held at Bud and Nancy Hunter's. A great time was had by all. Photos here and recipes here. 12-7-09

Santa Train - Do you have an outdoor Santa Train or one around the tree or a seasonal train anywhere? Send some pix to share with your fellow club members. Here is mine. 11-30-09

Our History - Dave Lynn has very thoughtfully supplied us with the history of the Big Train Engineers/Indiana Large Scale Railroaders club. It is particularly interesting and helpful for those of us who have joined in recent years. 11-23-09

Welcome Back - David and Dorothy Watts have rejoined for 2009 and 2010. We certainly appreciate the support we have had from them over the years. 11-18-09

Welcome to New Members Vincent and Berill Johnson - Vincent came to the Watts event and joined on the spot. Glad to have them in the club. 11-18-09

ILSR Open House at Watts Train Shop - was held on Nov 7. Lots going on, including the surprise debut performance of the "ILSR Singing Gandy Dancers". ALL the details here. 11-9-09

Welcome to New Members Fred Rees and Trudy Martin - Fred and Trudy have gotten interested in Large Scale railroading through our members and their neighbors, Uno and Joan Magnuson. We hope to see them at our upcoming events. 11-4-09

Welcome to New Member Rick Whitt - Rick is from Indianapolis and works at Watts Train Shop. We hope to see him at our November 7 Watts meeting. 10-30-09

ILSR Newsletter Online The excellent ILSR November/December 2009 Newsletter has been posted in the Member Pages in full color! Don't have a password yet? Click here for instructions. 10-28-09