Those present at the first meeting were a group of modelers primarily from Utah County. The Ophir, Tintic, & Western Model Railroad Club was organized by a small group interested in HO scale model railroading on March 22, 1990. The club was organized it the Caboose Lounge at the Well Trained Model Railroad store in Provo, Utah. The original intent was to build a club owned modular layout with a mi
ning and steel mill theme. The layout was to be based on real scenes in Utah with coal and ores from the Wasatch Mountains moving to the mills in Provo and Salt Lake. It was decided that since no one railroad served all of these areas, a fictional or “freelanced” railroad would be created. Several names were quickly suggested, however it was charter member Albert Schmuhl who came up with the name that seemed the most appropriate. He suggested that the original railroad could have served the mining areas to the west of Utah Valley. Taking the lead from the prototype railroads of the old west he combined names from the mining ghost town of Ophir, to the mining district of the Tinitc Mountains and the grand wish of all early railroads to push to the Pacific came the name of the club’s railroad was born, the Ophir, Tintic, and Western. Many of the early layouts proved unfeasible when applied to a modular concept. For this reason, and due to the limited time and money resources of the original group, club ownership was put on hold in early summer 1990. Each member was encouraged to build his own modules. The club committed to have a layout ready for it’s first show later that fall in November 2-4 1990. Growth was slow as club members learned how to build sturdy framework, lay track properly, match up to other modules, run electrical leads, and the myriad of other things to complete a well running and good looking module. Each club member has learned many things from others in the club. The first show the club attended was the Wasatch Division show at the Salt Lake City Union Pacific Station, November 2,3,4 1990. Most of the modules still had bare wood, no skirting and no scenery. The layout was only eight feet wide and twenty four feet long. However, the club was the first to be completely up and funning, and there were no problems with the layout the whole show. Since that inaugural showing, the club has been invited to participate in annual shows in Salt Lake, Ogden, as well as special shows and conventions throughout the region. The club has also sponsored it’s own show for the past 9 years, as well as special showing at the Primary Children’s Medical Center in 1992, Utah County Fair 1993, the dedication of the Railroad Training Facility at Salt Lake Community College in 1996, Payson Onion Days 1996, Evanston Roundhouse Festival 1998 and 1999, Heber Valley Railroad Days 1999 as well as other showings at local schools and other events. The clubs modular layout has grown steadily since our fist showing in 1990. In 1993 transitions to form an inside corner were begun, and enough members owned modules to form an L shape. An additional set has been started and it is hoped that in the coming months the possibility to set up in a U shape will exist. Most modules are member owned and will continue to be. An N scale division was added in 1995 to the Ophir, Tintic & Western to include those interested in N scale modeling. Early N scale members Doug Lamb and Richard Johnson worked diligently to complete an N scale layout. Thanks to their efforts our N scale group has participated in many of the same shows as our HO group. Since that time it has continued grow and attract more members who have added their own modules. In 1996 the club began construction on perhaps our most ambitious project to date, a permanent layout in the Orem Heritage Museum, located in the Scera Theater in Orem. The club has donated many hours and dollars in the construction of this layout. Construction took place over the next 16 months, requiring many Saturday work sessions. The layout was 80% complete in September 1997 and deemed “ready” for the museums dedication that month. The club has continued to improve the layout adding additional structures and details on the layout, as well as providing for it’s regular maintenance and upkeep since that time. In 1997 the club sponsored a logo contest to design our new official logo. The contest was opened to the general public. Entries were receive from members, local high school students as well as Students from BYU, UVSC, and SLCC. A diamond and oval shaped design submitted by Georgia Hendricks a student an SLCC was chosen the winner was selected by the popular vote of the club members. In 1999 the club incorporated as a non-profit organization. It is hope that this will allow the club to expand it’s scope and to share the fun and rewarding aspects of this hobby and to reach more people in the communities in which we live. We enjoy our hobby and hope you have enjoyed visiting our “Railroad.” If we can be of help to you in getting started in model railroading or just answer you questions we would be happy to do so. We invite you to meet and participate with us. Our club meetings are on the third Thursday of each month at 7:00 p.m. in Orem at the Scera Theater 740 S State Street. Copyright (C) 2016 Ophir, Tintic & Western Model Railroad Club. All Rights Reserved
