Operating Groups

Our great hobby of model railroading provides the opportunity to allow us to use our vision to be creative, use carpentry skills, electrical skills, model building skills, and develop scenery. Another opportunity that we can benefit from is the friendships and helpful assistance from fellow model train lovers. The NMRA is the association that helps bring all this together. The Piedmont Division has monthly meetings and clinics that provides a place to interact and expand friendships, but we encourage out members to form Operating Groups.

Operating Groups are smaller groups of people (frequently 8-15 people) that help each other with constructing their respective layouts and participating in operating sessions. These smaller groups provide you with the ability to develop closer friends and a camaraderie that generally are not available in the larger group setting. We have listed below Operating Groups in our area.

We also encourage you to form your own operating group. This can be with individuals in a close geographical area or just putting out a notice that you want to form a new group. Some of the groups listed below may have a full compliment of members others may still be looking for members. We encourage you to join or form an operating group, you may find you will enjoy the model railroad hobby more than you do now.

Atlanta Interlocking Model Railroaders

We are an HO Club, Membership is kept at about 10 - 12 members. We do not have regular meetings, dues or officers. We attempt to reach a consensus on club matters. To be a member, one must construct a minimum of 10 feet of modules. Members are expected to take part in setting up, operating and breaking down for shows.

Intown Operators Group

The Intown Operators Group was started in 2008 by Crew Heimer and Tom Gordon to help develop the layouts and operating skills of modellers who actually live ‘Inside The Perimeter’. Our membership is open to all scales, and you don’t have to have a layout to be a member (you just have to wish you did!). We operate, of course, but we also get together to help members build, plan, and in some cases, clean up!

Joint Railway Association of Georgia (JRAG)

The Joint Railway Association of Georgia (JRAG) is a group of model railroaders dedicated to Prototype Model Railroad Operation. We are a loosely knit Round Robin operating group. We have been meeting almost every Friday evening since 1981 operating one of the layouts in the group. We currently have 8 operating railroads in the schedule. We operate in a professional manner but we also think operation should be FUN!

North Atlanta Rail Barons

This operating group was started by Howard Goodwin to accommodate the model railroaders on the northwest side of Atlanta in an effort to assist those who are building or starting home layouts, to teach the skills it necessitates and to be a source of fellowship, support base and encouragement to those in the group. In less than two years since it's creation, the most important accomplishment has been the fellowship derived from participation in the group. Along the way we are managing to get some model railroads built.

North County Interchange

The North County Interchange is about operating model train layouts. But since you have to have a layout first, we are also about building layouts. The Atlanta area is swarming with model railroaders, but there are only a limited number of operating groups in the area. It is our goal to form a regularly meeting operating group with layouts being constructed along the I-85/I-985 corridor.

Southern Crescent Operating Group (S-COG)

S-COG serves modelers living South of I-20. There are no formal rules or requirements for membership. We meet once at least monthly for operating sessions, usually on Joe Gelmini's Georgia Great Southern. Contact: Joe Gelmini