River Valley Railroad Renegades 4-H Model Railroad Club

08/06/2026

Thank you to everyone who attended the 100th Middlesex and New Haven County 4-H Fair this weekend and stopped by to see our members HO modules. It was great weekend and our members had a ton of fun getting to run their modules for the first time! They also had their modules and poster projects evaluated and everyone did very well! Without generous donations and money raised from our popcorn fundraiser this would not have been possible; so thank you very much for those of you who have helped!

We want to thank Kato USA, Inc., Amato's Toy and Hobby Middletown (especially Dale!), and Rich at R R Model and Hobby Supply for their support with purchasing supplies and equipment for our club.

We also want to thank Mark Herrick (BNSF Montana Division), James Braxton of Valley-Ntrak of Ct, Art Durtra, and the membership of the Nutmeg Division NMRA. Without the knowledgeable support and encouragement of everyone listed above we would not have had such a smooth time getting the modules, wiring, and general operation of the layout completed in time for the fair.

Thank you to the parents and families of our members who all helped with setting up, running the layout, last minute wiring, cleanup, transportation of the modules, or who volunteered in other areas of the fair. Without your support and active involvement in this club, we would not be able to do what we do.

Now that the fair is over we look forward to sharing the progress our members make over the next 12 months completing structures and scenery so their modules will be 100% complete at the 101st fair!

06/29/2026

We had a successful day of running trains at the Hardware Milwaukee tools event! Check out a couple of pictures of our awesome set up! Thank you to everyone who came out and participated!!!

06/29/2026

Our members have been hard at work on their layouts! Learning each process of the build so far:
Building the frame, paining the frame, gluing and painting the foam, gluing the frame feet. Calculating track, managing the track while gluing it down. Figuring out the complex wiring processes and a bit of some carving of the foam for a beautiful river scene! These kids have come so far in just a few short months! We can’t wait to show off the modules at the 100th 4-H fair! Come out and visit us the weekend of 7/31-8/2!

06/05/2026

Come support Higganum Hardware’s Milwaukee Event tomorrow! They have been a great supporter of our club and of Middlesex County 4-H programs. We will have a tent setup with two trains you can run and info about our club. We hope to see you there!

Our Milwaukee Event is Tomorrow! Don't miss the best deals of the year on just about everything Milwaukee! Event runs from 8am to 3 pm. Aren't able to make it? Call in an order and you still qualify for all the deals. Valid on June 6th only. See you there!

05/18/2026

This past weekend our members who were able to attend participated in a build session for their module bases. They completed construction of the wood portion of their bases, painted their foam base layers, and began preparing the wood bases for paint and painted them if they had time. Members also had the opportunity to use SCARM 2 to review their layout designs and assemble their Kato Unitrack to make sure they were happy with their layouts. About half of the module bases were built during this session and at the the next build session we will finish the other half and hopefully finish painting the bases. Our new DCC-ex command station has been ordered as well as jigs for laying the track with the correct spacing and alignment from Philament ‘N Laser Designs. Stay tuned over the next few weeks as we gain steam and stay on track to have our modules operational in June!

05/18/2026

Thank you to everyone who purchased popcorn from our Double Good popcorn fundraiser. Also thank you to everyone who donated to our Venmo account. At total of $1,351 was raised for the club, which will help cover the cost of the track and module materials. Without everyone’s generous support we would not be able to fund construction of the modules and overall layout!

05/09/2026

Happy National Train Day! Not only is it National Train Day, this evening is also the Middlesex County 4-H advisory auction at the UConn Haddam Extension Center. Our club has donated a Bachman starter set to be auctioned off tonight. All proceeds raised at the auction are used by the advisory committee to fund 4-H activities and events in the county and for county children. We would also like to thank Amato’s Toy and Hobby in Middletown for the assistance with selecting and purchasing this set, as well as their continued support of our club!

05/09/2026

Less than 24 hours to go on our popcorn fundraiser! Our members are only $985 away from our $2500 group sales goal! Our pop up store ends tomorrow at noon. Thanks again to everyone who has participated so far! Your support helps us provide this club at no cost to our youth members!

https://popup.doublegood.com/s/5mu3xp92

05/08/2026

Thank you to everyone who has purchased popcorn or donated to our Venmo. We are currently halfway to our $2,500 in sales goal! And the Venmo has had nearly $250 in donations. Without your generosity we wouldn’t be able to offer this club at no charge to our youth members!

Our popcorn pop-up shop ends this Sunday at noon, so there’s still time to grab some before it’s too late!

We are also starting our weekly “Rail Fan Fridays”. Each Friday we will post a railroad related photo or photo collection taken by one of our members, volunteers, or supporters. If you have a photo you’d like to have shared please send it to us via messenger or our club email. We look forward to seeing and sharing your photos!

Today’s photo is of the Norfolk and Western #611 steam locomotive taken by Albert, who is one of our club leaders, back in October in Craigsville, Virginia, on his first ever rail- fanning trip.