About HOBOE in Tucson, Arizona
The HOBOE model railroad club was formed in 2008 by a group of modellers who originally wanted to build modular units that they could take to schools, shopping malls, and model train meets. They were able to rent an affordable building wherein they built a 12' by 12' layout. In 2013, they began construction of the present layout in a home purchased specifically for the club.
The layout generally follows a track plan that was published in the April 2011 issue of Model Railroader magazine - (scroll down). It occupies a 24' by 35' area of the home and has over 400' of dual mainline track. Two yards and a Union Station as well as a number of industries with spurs were added to the 1945 - 1960 era layout.
The separate storage room will house a large storage/staging yard that incorporates a DCC programming facility. This is currently under construction.
The Digitrax(TM) DCC (Digital Command and Control) system
is used to operate the trains.
A number of photos of the layout being built and as it currently exists may be seen in the Photo Gallery.