SNNT -- A Brief History

The Southern Nevada N-Trakers (SNNT) was formed in November 1997, with the purpose of promoting N-Scale Model Railroading using the international NTRAK modular standards as a rule . Two of the original six members (Ed Hall & Bob Jones) still actively participate with the club . While many members have joined, and some move away, we currently have 15 active members and a steady flow of new member requests .

The main goal of the SNNT club is to promote model railroading through the display of an N-Scale layout that is comprised of both member-owned and club-owned modules . Each individual module contains track and scenery that depicts a railroad location, either fictional or real, as the member wishes . In turn, each module can be connected to any other module, to complete an entire model railroad layout . This arrangement, being highly portable, can be rapidly moved and set up at a public location, for the benefit of those wishing to view an operational layout .

The SNNT club strongly suggests that members follow a “southwest theme” in design of their scenery . Member modules have demonstrated scenery from the barren wasteland of the Mojave Desert to the mountainous, wooded areas of northern Arizona , and from the rural areas of barrendesert to populated cities and towns .

The SNNT club has actively participated in numerous public and private functions where the display of a working model railroad is warranted . The crowd-pleasing features of this layout include the simultaneous operation of multiple trains (usually three), the high ratio of scenery to track, and the ability to operate long (heavy) trains comprising 60-100 railroad cars and multiple locomotive units .

In January 2005 SNNT as a club endorsed transitioning to DCC to control trains during club setups.This will be accomplished in steps, first dedicating one mainline to DCC and eventually full DCC control.

In May 2005 SNNT added oNeTRAK modules to complement the NTRAK modules of the club. This will provide for prototype operations on a single branchline. The oNeTRAK, when setup in a public presentation by SNNT will be solely DCC, with no provisions for DCanalog control. Guidelines for club modules are still under development.