A message from  Gene Thayer, President,

The Maine3Railers O-Gauge Model Railroad Club was formed by 13 charter members on a dark cold night in late November of 1998, at what was once the Maine-Ly Trains Shop in South China. Several of those original charter members are still very active in the Club today. And of course, many others have joined our ranks over the years. Our membership hovers around 120 members year to year, mostly in Maine and New Hampshire. Many of our members are very active and participate in Club activities. Membership is open to adults, teens, and entire families. Information on our monthly meeting schedule can be found on our Upcoming Events page.

The Maine3Railers are a 501(c) (3) non-profit, model railroad club operating in Maine. Our charter is one of spreading the word about the model railroading hobby through seminars, live exhibits and events, social media, our website and the Internet at large. Donations to the club may be tax deductible, please consult your tax professional for more detail. For more information on this or other aspects of our club, please contact me. Follow this link to join our Club: Join the Maine3Railers.

Please see our  Club Officers list for their contact information.

What follows are a few Club highlights:

For years we have hosted a very successful annual Club show in Augusta each February. In 2022, we moved to a larger venue, the Augusta Armory, to continue and expand this show.

Each year we sponsor a number of interesting road trips for club members, both in and out of state.  On these, we visit train shops, attend shows, and visit club member’s layouts.

Our primary activity is one of setting up and operating layouts at locations in Maine throughout the year ranging from train shows to other public venues such as libraries, senior living centers, veteran’s homes, hospitals and fairs.  All in the name of community service and promoting the model railroad hobby.

Because Christmas is such a special time of the year for showcasing and displaying model trains, we have been instrumental in organizing and participating in the large annual holiday model train exhibit at the Maine State Museum in Augusta. We’ve also participated in the holiday model train exhibit at the Maine Mall in South Portland. More recently we were asked to provide a Christmas Holiday operating train display at L.L. Bean in Freeport, Maine, which operated for 12+ hours per day for over six weeks. We were honored to have been asked to participate.

Many of our members are accomplished hobbyists with many interesting and unique skills to share.  The camaraderie among our members is undoubtedly the greatest joy of club membership.  After all, it may be the love of trains and the hobby that bring us together, but it is the friendship that emanates from such camaraderie that continues to help the club grow and thrive.

Each year the Club offers limited-run cars, or Club Cars, that showcase different areas of interest within Maine and/or highlight Maine based businesses. These have always been sought after by operators and collectors alike, and have been a great success.

Please take a few minutes and navigate our website to learn more about the Maine3Railers.  Consider donating trains or financial support. We are always willing to share our hobby with others, so if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask, or for that matter join us as we all enjoy this wonderful hobby.

Thank you for visiting,  Gene.