Like the HO and N scales, O Scale's first Richmond operations began in
the early 1990's. Unlike the Emeryville, which was more 'city' oriented,
the designers of the Point Richmond operation opted for longer runs with
more country and mountain motifs. The initial plan called for three distinct
layouts separated by partitions. The north end of the layout was a 2.5'
narrow gauge, the middle section a 3' narrow gauge (which never became operational),
with the south end of the layout in standard gauge. A trolley layout was
incorporated into the standard gauge operation.
By 1996 most of the members with an interest in narrow gauge had either
moved away, or gone on to other things. As a result, we undertook a major
layout redesign that removed the artificial barriers between the three sections,
allowing the standard gauge to run the full length of the available area,
with plans to incorporate narrow gauge should interest there once again arise.
Today (Jam 2008) we are about 90% complete with our new track plan, and about 75% complete
with our scenery modeling. See the pages on Layout
& Operations, Current Projects,
and The Future for more details on our current
layout and future activities.
