Welcome to the North Central O Gauge Model Railroad Club

A Model Railroad Club for individuals who like to run O Gauge Trains and share their interest with like minded individuals.

The club has monthly train runs on the 2nd Saturday of every month except in November. Members bring their trains and operate them for the public. This event has an average of over 600 visitors on each of these days.

The layout consists of three loops of track set up to run Lionel Trains with Cab 1, Legacy, and conventional operation, as well as MTH, K Line, and Williams by Bachmann engines. A member can come to the layout during scheduled open hours and run trains, once they are familiar with the general operations of the power supplies. Only members are allowed inside the train area.

In addition to the monthly train runs there are special runs. This is done on a modularized operating traveling layout with 3 tracks. The modules are housed in a trailer and the club tries to set-up for a minimum of 4 local events in Lake, McHenry, and Cook Counties of Illinois, and have even run trains in communities just into Wisconsin. Special runs are on a single day, Saturday. Member participation is encouraged for both the setup and to bring their trains for the run. A typical special run lasts approximately 6 hours. The layout is decorated in themes such as Halloween, Christmas, Circus, and Hobo. The club is reimbursed for these runs and this is a significant source of income. These one day runs usually average over 800 visitors.

The club also does an occasional Community Service run. These runs are provided on a no-charge basis. During the year a Saturday or two is designated as member only days called "Non-Picnic Days". Members run trains from 9 to 4 on this day, and some members bring in lunch and soft drinks to share. On those days the public is not invited. We often include a swap meet for members to sell trains to other members.

The club also has a guest program, whereby an individual who has an O Gauge train they would like to run on our tracks has the opportunity to do so at no cost. In addition, the club has a member who is very good at repairing trains and is willing to help them get their engines running.

The train club layout was formerly located on the second floor of the Fremont Public Library. After 20 plus years at the library, the library is reclaiming the floor space and will be undergoing renovations to the area so that the space can be used by library patrons.

A group of club members have dismantled the original layout and have relocated some of the modules to a temporary location for the modules to be set up and to allow members to once again run trains. Once the details have been worked out, our hope is that the public will again be invited back to watch the trains. The club members have high hopes that in the not too distant future, they will agin have a permanent layout in the Mundelein area, open to the public, to come and watch the trains.

Membership dues are $100.00 per year.

Thank you for your interest. The Board of the North Central O Gaugers Model Railroad Club Inc. welcomes your questions and comments, and invites you to visit our Website: http://www.ncogtrains.com/