The Danville Model Railroad Club (DMRRCLUB), Danville, Virginia

The club layout is made up of 8 main sections.
Click on the descriptions below for pictures of the layout sections.

Section 1 - Danville Yard
Section 2 - Danville City
Section 3 - Coal Mine
Section 4 - Paper Mill
Section 5 - Leaksville Spray
Section 6 - Grit
Section 7 - Piedmont Yard
Section 8 - Staging Yard

DANVILLE MODEL RAILROAD CLUB, CO-SPONSORED BY THE DANVILLE PARKS, RECREATION DEPARTMENT

CLUB PURPOSE: The Constitution of the Danville Model Railroaders, Inc., states that it “shall be a nonprofit organization formed to encourage and further interest in model railroading, to promote the greater fellowship of model railroading between model railroaders, and to construct and maintain a layout for the purpose of displaying and operating model railroad equipment.” Some years ago, a survey was made of its members, who unanimously agreed that fellowship was the foremost benefit that they derived from membership.

CLUB ORGANIZATION: The Danville Model Railroad Club was founded in 1978 and is co-sponsored by the Danville Parks, Recreation Department. The stairway to its layout rooms is across from the entrance to the office of that Department located on the fourth floor of its building (the original Danville Armory) at 125 Floyd Street in downtown Danville. Originally, the seven layout rooms were used by the Virginia National Guard. The Club is registered with the Virginia Corporation Commission as Danville Model Railroaders, Inc. Club regular membership in recent years has been about two dozen members, of whom about a dozen are active. They meet for informal operation each Monday and Thursday beginning at 7:00 p.m. except for the third Monday of each month when they meet at 7:30 p.m. in the conference room on the fourth floor for the Club’s monthly business meeting. Occasionally official operating sessions with dispatching are scheduled.

CLUB LAYOUT DESCRIPTION AND OPERATION CONCEPT: The Club’s layout is built for Digital Command Control (DCC) operation and utilizes the Digitrax Command Control system. Approximately 535 feet of mainline track winds through the layout rooms, and there are about 900 additional feet of sidings and yards. There are a logging branch with switchbacks, two operating turntables, and a loads in--empties out operation for hopper cars with a coal mine at one end and a paper mill at the other. The layout is almost fully sceniced. The minimum curve radius on the main line is approximately thirty inches. The rolling stock is owned by the Club, but the motive power and the DCC throttles are member owned. A limited number of engines and DCC throttles are available for member use on a first come, first served basis. Member owned rolling stock is permitted but cannot be left on the layout other than rental track between sessions. Lockers and limited rental tracks for storage of personal rolling stock are available to members. There is a library/lounge adjacent to the layout rooms which houses a sizable collection of donated railroad related books and magazines and where members gather to watch railroad videos and to enjoy fellowship. The official name of the Club’s railroad is the Piedmont Southern Railroad, and its operation concept is that of an interchange railroad between Lynchburg and Greensboro with some industry along its route and Danville as its approximate midpoint. The Mountain Division and the Valley Division main lines connect these two cities. A sizable interchange yard is located north of Lynchburg for traffic bound for Alexandria and another south of Greensboro for traffic bound for Atlanta. Frequent through passenger trains traverse its rails, some making regular stops at Danville and Schoolfield stations. The Piedmont Southern has lease agreements with other railroads (ACL, B&O, C&O, N&W, PRR, RF&P, SAL, SOUTHERN, and VIRGINIAN) that support operation of motive power for these railroads on the layout. The official time period adopted for the Piedmont Southern is from the mid-1940’s to the mid-1950’s.