History

The Walnut Creek Model Railroad Society can trace its beginnings to 1948.

The club started with a group of men, with an interest in the hobby, meeting at each other's homes.

They also displayed a 4x8 foot portable layout at special events such as the annual Walnut Festival held each Fall in a city park.

The first permanent railroad came alive in an old freight shed moved onto a leased site near the Walnut Creek Southern Pacific depot in 1950.

This location served to house an impressive layout of 20 x 40  feet until 1970.

Flood control work along the creek, from which the city derives its name, required relocating the SP track and, of course, the WCMRS clubhouse.

By then the club had outgrown the existing building and the condition of the structure precluded relocating again.

The Society solved the clubhouse problem by reaching an agreement with the City of Walnut Creek for the present site in the Larkey Park.

This structure became the first in California (and one of very few in the world) to be designed and built specifically to house a

model railroad.

The actual construction work was done in two years by members of the Society at no cost to the City.

Upon completion in 1974 the building was donated to the city and the building of the railroad commenced.