All Points North Model Railroad
Association, Inc. (APN) is an IRS 501(c)(3) qualified,
non-profit charitable organization. Donations are tax deductible
as contributions to a public charity, under IRC Sec 170.
APN's Mission Statement
“The Mission of the All Points North Model Railroad
Association is to
support and perpetuate the hobby of model railroading.
Our primary objective is to provide a permanent place for our
members to participate in the hobby, each at their own level of
skill and enjoyment.”
Latest Additions
New Members:
Jim
Sindelar Bob Barkhurst John Eigel Ken Hatley
Herb Carrier Ron Smith Sean Gorman
Raj Subramanian John Edmonson Rayniel Cruz
Click above to visit our
YouTube Channel
Noteworthy Pages on Our Website
Pike Scenes: A Photo Gallery of some of the best scenes on
our layout Click here
Photo Gallery of our members volunteering at the Greater
Houston Train Show
Click Here
Photo Gallery of our 2022 Christmas Party Click here
Photo Gallery of our 2014 Spring
Spousal Invitational Operating Session Click here
Railroading
Upcoming Events
Monthly Virtual Clinics hosted by Division 8 of
the NMRA Lone Star Region Click on the logo above
to go to their Facebook page for information on upcoming
clinics and recordings of past clinics
Bi-weekly Virtual Meetups Sundays at
3:00pm For information on current and past
Meetups,
Click here
Virtual Conventions/Clinics Go to the
NMRAx
Facebook page for information on upcoming clinics Click here
Go to the NMRAx YouTube channel to view past
clinics Click here
Railroading in other media
Free Train Simulator
Do you want to run a virtual railroad on your PC? Open
Rails is a FreeWare train simulator project compatible with
Microsoft's Train Simulator product. Click here
Houston Area RR Radio Scanner
Do you want to listen to
Houston railroad radio traffic on your smart phone or home computer?
Navigate to this link to listen to more than a dozen area radio
channels, Click here
Podcasts for Model Railroaders
Did you know there are hobbyists like us that produce Podcasts that
you can download and listen to on your computer or MP3 player?
For a list of a few of these, Click here
A few good reads Although
we have our own library, the public library is also a source for
books on railroading and our hobby. One example is this book
that most model railroaders would enjoy: "Playing with Trains: A Passion Beyond Scale"
"Check it out" at the
Montgomery County Library. Click here
Recommended
reading from the APN library:
"Model Railroading with John Allen"
by Linn Westcott
Trains for your ear Instead of music,
how
about a free download of an MP3 "old time radio" melodrama
for your iPod / MP3 Player? Click here
2-10-0 Road Test How does it perform?
"It corners as if it is on rails!" Click here
to read Road &
Track magazine's road test of a 1924 Baldwin Decapod.
Better than YouTube
Vintage movie footage,
some full length featurettes
from when rail was king
Click here
Welcome!
We have doubled the size of our Clubhouse,
now we are doubling the size of our already HUGE layout.
Take a tour of our layout/clubhouse by looking through our Photo
Galleries. In particular, thePike
Scenesgallery really shows off detailed areas of
our layout - click on the link to take a look at it, we think you will be
impressed. Or come visit us and take an up close and personal tour. Just
call one of the phone numbers below and set a date to watch trains running over our
mainline.
To get under the hood and learn about some of
the more detailed mechanics of operating our layout,click
here.
Welcome to the official website of the
All
Points North Model Railroad Association - Conroe, Texas
Founded in 1981 as a social club, APN currently has over 60 members. In 2001 APN
completed construction of a new 2,500 square foot clubhouse
located on two acres of land in Conroe, Texas (just north of
Houston).
In early 2003 we began construction of our
permanent layout. It culminated in an operating HO scale
point-to-point railroad with over 530' of mainline run.
It also included a narrow gauge HOn3 line.
In less than 7 years after
filling our available space with 1500 square feet of layout, we wanted more.
In May of 2010 we added an extension to the building, doubling
its size to 5,000 square feet. More of this space is
available for layout than the original building. That
summer we embarked on our plan to more than double the size
of what is already one of the largest if not the largest HO
layout in the Greater Houston Area.
We are one of only a handful of model railroad clubs in the
United States that owns both the land and a building solely
dedicated to model railroading. Members have access to the club
anytime, day or night, allowing them to run trains or access the
club's library, or use the work bench or paint booth to work on
their models. Saturdays will almost always find someone
at the club house sometime during the day. We hold a
business meeting the third Saturday of the month.
Operating Sessions have become an important facet of our
enjoyment of our layout, and is what most modelers ultimately
aspire too, many at the expense of finishing the scenicing of
their layouts. At APN we enjoy both!
We hold an Operating Session on the
fourth Saturday of the month. From time to time we also alternate with other layout owners
in the Houston area (and beyond) and operate as guests on their layouts.
Click here to find out more about
operations on the APN Railroad.
APN has memberships available to
individuals with an interest in any phase of the model
railroading hobby. Membership is restricted
to individuals 18 years of age or older. Click here for an Application for Membership.
Call our Member-at-Large to arrange for visit.
For more
information on APN contact one of the following:
Terry Burkhardt, APN President:
(847) 997-3489
Mike McCrae, APN Member-at-Large:
(281) 832-0165
The 77 members of the All Points North Model Railroad
Association Click on an individual's
picture for a larger photo We play with trains
and aren't ashamed to admit it!
A brief
introduction to the All Points North Model Railroad Association
Want
to know more about Model Railroading?
The National Model Railroad Association
is the largest organization devoted to the development, promotion, and enjoyment
of the hobby of model railroading.
The NMRA has a web page devoted to beginners in the hobby. Click here
to go to that page.
All Points North Model Railroad
Association's "Caboose Cam"
A freight train prepares to depart APN's Conroe Yard. Scramble
up the ladder and take a seat in the caboose cupola. Enjoy the view as the train makes a round over just a
portion of the mainline. Be sure your speakers are on so you can hear the steam engine. (Click on the photo to play)
Here are a couple of additional videos shot on out layout
Amtrak Train Number 99 as it runs
from Burnito to North Wahl on the All Points North Railroad (Click on the photo to play)
Train meet on APN's Ralphred siding, just outside the town of Big Bend. In both of these videos watch for the signals change, giving the train in the
siding the OK to proceed. (Click on the photo to play)
Another train meet, this time at CP Sabinal near Port Keechi. (Click on the photo to play)
Created on 01/25/2007
Updated
04/16/2024
Copyright 2000-2024 by All Points North
Model Railroad Association, Incorporated. All rights reserved.
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2-6-2 "Pacific" Steam Locomotive (I wish) Before using or relying on any of this
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APN is a 501(c)(3) Qualified
Public Charity, incorporated as a Texas non-profit
charitable organization, EIN # 87-1105126 Donations, monetary
and material, are tax deductible as charitable contributions under IRS Code
Section 170, and are used to further the educational mission of APN.
Recommended
reading from the APN library: 
