Springfield Model Railroad Club

10/04/2026

I forgot to post IMRR 2084 that I finished in back in July. It started as an undecorated Atlas GP40. I added Cannon & Co fans, modified the dynamic blister to add a filter box and dual exhaust thus converting it into a GP38-3 like the prototype. As far as any custom parts go, I drew and 3D printed an air conditioner and the APU exhaust on the rear of the long hood, as well as a kitbashing the P5 horn with its strange arrangement . After that the only thing left was the most difficult paint and decal job I’ve ever done, together on the same loco! Its finished off with ESU LokSound and a Scale Sound Systems speaker.

-CJ

10/02/2026

For several years now we have tried to find a way to properly honor members who have passed away. Recently the idea of a club business/ passenger train came up and we decided that naming the cars after these members would be a great way to honor them and their contributions to the club. So we present to you the STRA business train!

The first car is a power generator car named after the Alton Route which is the railroad whose trackage inspired our layout.

The second car is a sleeper, named after Lloyd Seebach. Lloyd was a member from the early days and helped the club grow from a couple of guys meeting in some guys basement to the club it is today! He was a nice, funny guy and his memory lives on at the club.

The third car is a coach, named after Kevin “Boots” Haynes. Boots joined in the 90s and helped build our first layout and was a great modeler as well. His toolbox and tools are still used today to maintain the layout and rolling stock at the club.

The fourth car is a lounge car named after Dale McAfee who from what we understand was essentially our founder. He and a handful of others came together and decided to form the Springfield Model Railroad Club, with early meetings taking place in his basement. A few of our older guys still remember Dale and always talk about him fondly and honestly this club wouldn’t exist without him.

The end car is an office and track inspection car named after Scott “Scotty” Humphrey. Many people in the community know Scotty from working at Castles and from being a fixture of our club for many years. He is one of the best modelers the club has ever seen building much of the layout we’ve come to know, as well as inspiring many of to strive to be as good of modelers as he was. We’d like to think Scotty would have something interesting and slightly controversial to say about having a car named after him but he definitely deserves it.

It is our goal to keep adding cars to this train to continue honoring the legacy’s of those who made this club great. Enjoy the pictures of the train and the hard work that CJ did to put this train together. He never met any of these members so for him to put so much care and effort into it means a lot to those of us who did know them!

10/02/2026

The recently completed STRA office car special hit the rails last night. Each car, aside from the power car, honors a past member. More on this in the next post.

-CJ

09/21/2026

Figured I’d share catching the EJ&E heritage unit last night with you guys. Caught it in Kinmundy Illinois leading a potash train south down the old IC mainline of Mid-America! I believe it’s the first CN heritage unit I’ve seen so that was pretty cool to see it completely by accident.

08/18/2026

That’s something you don’t see everyday! A steam engine on the front lawn of the old state capitol!

This unusual photo of a Chicago and Alton steam engine sitting on the south lawn of the then Sangamon County Courthouse (now referred to as the Old State Capitol building) on Sept 25 1915. Photo says the steam engine was being used to power decorations on this date which was the last day of the Illinois State Fair.

08/14/2026

The STRAs newest power addition was hard at work on its first day on the job. Unfortunately it experienced a ditch light malfunction and will need to return to the shops to get that straightened out. Otherwise its maiden voyage was a success as it lead the return section of the south bound local!

07/27/2026

A few views of a very STRA operating session earlier this month.

07/20/2026

Here was our view of the Big Boy on Saturday as it left Springfield. It was such an awesome experience to see it up close and feel its awesome power as it chuffed past. We sure hope everyone got a chance to see it and enjoyed viewing a piece of American and railroad history! Feel free to share your guys photos and videos with us, we’d love to see them!

07/17/2026

In case you all have been living under a rock the past few weeks, the Big Boy is making its cross country journey and will be coming through Springfield Saturday the 18th! In honor of this we ran our own big boy steam excursion around the layout last night!

Per Union Pacifics website the train will be leaving Bloomington at 815 heading to Springfield where they are scheduled to arrive at 1045 and have a meet and greet at the Amtrak station. I imagine traffic downtown will be crazy so you’ll probably want to get there early in anticipation of that.

Remember to stay safe! Don’t drive dangerously trying to chase the train and don’t block streets for a picture of it. Please be careful around any tracks as there will be trains other than the Big Boy to watch out for. UP recommends giving 25 feet of space!

Just be smart and don’t trespass or do anything dangerous. People out east died trying to see the Big Boy and we don’t want to see that happen here. So have fun, stay safe and bring some water because it’s gonna be another hot one tomorrow!

🚂 🚂🚂🚂

07/04/2026

An image 250 years in the making!!

Bicentennial and semi quincentennial units line up in honor of Americas 250th birthday! The STRA wishes everyone an amazing and safe fourth of July!

Happy Birthday America!