Piedmont & Western Railroad Club
Founded in July of 1988, the Piedmont & Western Model Railroad Club has combined the talents and passions of local railroad enthusiasts to create a fictitious rail line serving Western North Carolina.
The HO scale railroad runs from Marion, NC to Leadvale, TN, carrying loads across the scenic Blue Ridge Mountains. The layout fills a small room in the Old Rock School and sits on platforms that stand roughly chest high. It covers approximately 800 square feet. The mainline is mostly single track and is approximately 250 feet long. Total trackage covers over 1,000 feet.
The club plans to eventually have several dozen locomotives and several hundred freight and passenger cars. Currently, they are installing a new signaling system and upgrading the control system and dispatcher’s station.
Anyone interested in joining the club is welcome and no prior model railroad experience is necessary. The club meets on Thursday nights with business meetings the first Thursday and operating sessions on the fourth Thursday. There are modest membership dues.
The club has open house during the Valdese Christmas parade (first saturday in December and during the Waldensian Festival (second Saturday in August).