Model trains may be small, but in a quiet corner of Jackson, Louisiana, they create an entire world of motion, sound and memories. At the Greater Baton Rouge Model Railroaders Club, locomotives wind through tunnels, over trestles and across multi-level landscapes, drawing visitors into a scene that feels both nostalgic and alive.
The first impression is unmistakable: the rumble of wheels, the flash of lights, the constant sense of movement. For club president Clay Fourrier, the fascination began early.
“I was a kid about five. My dad would always say, ‘wanna go see the trains?’” he recalls. Those childhood trips turned into a lifelong passion and eventually a leadership role at a club that opens its doors to the public on the second and fourth Saturdays of each month.
Fourrier sees something important happening when children step up to the layouts. “When they come in here, it’s real, it’s tactile… it’s not on the computer anymore, it’s right there in front of them,” he says. The result is an experience that feels more like stepping back in time than simply watching toys circle a track.
model trains in all shapes and sizes
Inside the Greater Baton Rouge Model Railroaders facility in Jackson, no two railroads are the same. Small-gauge lines pass miniature neighborhoods, while larger HO and O-gauge trains climb through mountain tunnels. Outside, on the garden layout, a G-scale locomotive loops past depots and carefully trimmed shrubs.
real steam power
One of the outdoor attractions is a live steam locomotive operated today by 15-year-old Charles Harrington. He uses a butane lighter to add fire to the model steam engine. And after a few minutes of building pressure, the locomotive speeds around the outdoor oval track. “It’s a smaller version of a steam locomotive that used to run before like the 1960s,” Harrington explains.
trains model louisiana history and landscapes
Much of the club’s appeal lies in its careful attention to storytelling. The layouts depict everything from amusement parks to local industries, even Christmas Eve bonfires on the Mississippi River levee. Club member Chris Hornsey points to his log train as it rolls by. It represents the massive logging operations that took place in the early 20th century near Ponchatoula, Louisiana. “The logging train is mine, and all the logs are real cypress logs. I weathered it,” Hornsey explains.
In a model rail yard, operator Jamie Aguillard demonstrates how a turntable guides engines into the roundhouse. “If you want to service the locomotive, you pull it on the turntable, pick the stall to put it in,” he says, the engine rotating beneath his hands.
Some visitors, like the Bailey family, have been here before. Young Easton Bailey sums it up simply, “I just like all the detail… and how the trains sound.” His father, Greg, adds, “We find ourselves kind of fascinated by it just being here.”
a life-long journey
For some, the hobby becomes a lifetime journey. As Brian Ehlenberg puts it, “One thing led to another,” after he bought a Christmas train decades ago. His bucket-list dream: riding the Glacier Express through the Swiss Alps. These miniature railroads prove that small trains come from big imaginations, and that the magic of model railroading still has the power to move people of all ages.
Greater baton rouge model railroaders on tv
open house twice a month
The Greater Baton Rouge Model Railroaders open their doors on the second and fourth Saturdays of each month from 10am until 2pm. The club facility is located in the Old Hickory Train Museum at 3406 College Street, Jackson, Louisiana.
3406 College St, Jackson, LA 70748
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