The Anacortes and Fidalgo Model Railroad Club will host what may be their last open house this weekend November 2nd and 3rd  from 10am to 4pm each day.  The layout is located in the basement at 419 Q Ave. in the beautiful seaside historic town of Anacortes west of Mount Vernon off HWY 20.

Look for this sign off Q street in Anacortes, the layout is in the basement around the backside of the house in the photo.

The club has been at this location since 1994 starting with a 500 square foot area and about 10 members.   Over the last 25 years the club has enjoyed a long and interesting pursuit of building and operating a detailed layout depicting many of the historic railroad features in and around Anacortes, Fidalgo Island and the Skagit Valley.

Scratchbuilt and operating model of the Swinomish Channel swing bridge which is still in use today by the BNSF serving the March Point refinery. You can see the distinctive prototype bridge along HWY 20 on the way to Anacortes.
Waterfront scene depicting the busy Anacortes port terminus of the Great Northern Railroad.

A lot of hard work and dedication has gone into the layout and it shows in the many finely constructed structures and scenery details.  The layout now occupies the full 1000 square feet available however the club must unfortunately move out within the next year.

Entryway to the basement layout features a re-creation of the La Conner arch span bridge that connects Fidalgo Island to the mainland on what is now Reservation Road.

Hopefully the club can find a new location to host their layout and equipment in the near future. Many members of the club are local PNR 4d NMRA members and regular attendees of both the Mount Vernon and the Skagit Valley and Whidbey NMRA Clinics.

A recent GoSkagit article about the layout is here

History of Anacortes and the local railroads is here

Map location of the club layout is here