St. James Model Railroad Club
MISSION
To foster the hobby of modeling, preservation of the St James area’s rich railroading history and education of modelers in the arts of carpentry, electrification, construction of model buildings and in the workings of model units.
MEMBERSHIP
Membership is open to anyone, including youth. New members are always welcome!
HISTORY
Roundhouse Inc was founded in 1989 by a group of railfans who wanted to promote the history of the St James area using Model Railroads as the medium.
The City of St James allowed the group to use the old Fire Hall on Second Avenue. A large O Gauge and HO Scale layout was built on the second floor of the Fire Hall. The display was open during the Railroad Days weekend and on weekends between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Record numbers of visitors viewed the layout. It was not uncommon to have over 2000 visitors during the Railroad Days weekends.
When the Watonwan County Library received a grant to expand its building, the old Fire Hall was demolished and Roundhouse Inc. moved to its present location.
It took about six years to rehabilitate the current building so a layout could be built in it. Years of hard work went into installing a new ceiling, new climate control systems, insulating the structure and putting up sheet rock. All lighting and the related electrical needed work to pass inspection. An upstairs lounge, library, and work area was constructed. The exterior of the building was caulked, sealed and painted once the interior was complete.
In 2006, layout construction was finally started, and the first O Gauge track was laid. In 2009, the HO Scale benchwork was completed and track was laid for the first time. That same year, a small G Gauge layout was constructed and work on an N scale layout started. Around 2015, this N scale layout was removed, and now is home to an American-Flyer S scale diorama. Construction progresses on the various layouts as time and funds permit.
An interactive O gauge toy train area was installed closer to floor level near the front door for young enthusiasts to have fun with!
Roundhouse Inc. works in conjunction with the City of St James to operate the Depot Museum, adjacent to the Clubhouse, as of 2025.
THE O SCALE
LAYOUT
The O scale layout was the first layout that track was laid on. While not the main focus of the club, it is very popular with visitors.
The childrens interactive layout below the main layout is a big attraction for children of all ages. This is a hands on layout and everyone is encouraged to operate it.
Views of the O scale layout can be found in the Interior Construction Photos section in the Gallery of this website.
Sometimes it is not possible to find a kit to represent what you want, so items have to be fabricated from scratch or kits have to be "kit-bashed" as needed. Below is a downloadable "Turntable Construction" document that might be of interest to a modeler who would like to replicate the O scale turntable.