About NTrak Express
Welcome to NTrak Express, one of Orange County’s premier N Scale modular railroad clubs. We are a fully certified 501(c)3 Federal and State of California charity. Our mission is to promote the hobby and to educate the public about the importance of railroads, railroad safety, and model railroading in particular through exhibits, projects, and participation, with emphasis on the local Boy Scouts, National Model Railroad Association (NMRA), schools, and botanical gardens.
NTrak Express is an N-scale modular model railroad club. Several times a year, club members meet and combine their module sections into a 20×40′ or larger layout. As many as 9 trains can be run simultaneously. The large size allows trains pulling up to 75 cars or more! Occasionally several clubs come together to make a truly giant layout.
Most of our members live in or near Orange County, CA. Our members include beginners and experts. Train shows are held at the local Convention Centers, fairgrounds, schools, NMRA events, and public and private venues.
NTrak Express is a 100% NMRA club All members are members of the National Model Railroad Association.
Founded in 1995, the NTrak Express gained national prominence through its creative Christmas Club Cars, many of which are now prized collectibles, and though exhibitions sponsored by the National Model Railroad Association and the N Scale Enthusiast. Photos of both the club cars and the exhibitions can be found at our website.
Bob Osterhoudt
President
Bob Hesselgrave
Vice President
John Johnson
Secretary
Ben Jones
Treasurer
Why Join a Model Railroad Club?
Why should you join NTrak Express or, any other model railroad club for that matter? If you are new to the hobby, then joining a club is best way to learn about the hobby. Don’t I need to be experienced to join a club? Well actually, No! Most clubs welcome hobbyist of every level. Most hobbyists that are part of clubs are eager to share their knowledge about the hobby.
Well can’t I just build a layout at home? Well yes you can, but if your just starting out you may not know where to start, what to buy and acquire the skills you need. This can be quite a daunting task for someone starting out. Many home layouts are started and never completed this can be true even with those experienced in the hobby.
One of the advantages of a modular club is that you only need to build one module as a requirement for most clubs. This can be a 2′ x 4′ module which can be a more manageable task. The single module can then be part of a much larger layout than can run multiple trains that are longer than would possible on most home layouts.