Capitol Free-mo

04/11/2026

A few pictures from the layout today.

03/08/2026

The Capitol Free-mo group invites you to be part of our April 11th and 12th setup at the Great Scale Models Train Show. This setup is at the "Cow Palace" on the Maryland State Fairgrounds in Timonium, MD.

Setup starts at 1pm on Friday April 10th and goes on until 8pm. We're located in the North hall of the Cow Palace with a 90x38 space. There is drive in access into the show halls through multiple overhead doors. If you can’t make it until Saturday morning, we will work with you.

Saturday we gain access to the show at 7am with the show opening at 9am and closing at 5pm sharp. On Sunday we can get in at 8am, with the show opening at 9am and lasts till 3pm. We typically start minor teardown activities around 2:45pm and typically finish up by 5pm.

What can you expect from our layout? Our layout is typically over 400 ft of combined single and double track mainline. We try to create a large section capable of free-running trains up to 25ft (sometimes longer) and portions are signaled with MSS modules. We also typically end up with several branch lines which we dedicate to running operations. ModuOps switchlists are used to control the operations of the layout.

The venue is easily reached from I-83, which connects to I-81 in Harrisburg PA. Timonium itself is just north of the Baltimore Beltway (I-695). I-70, I-83, I-95 all connect to I-695.
There are nearby restaurants, hotels and motels. There is a Baltimore Light Rail station behind the show hall if you want to go for a ride.

We're posting this in a number of locations so we apologize if you see multiple postings. If interested to join our setup with or without modules, please:

- reply on the Capitolfreemo@groups DOT io list, or:
- direct email us at [email protected]

With regards,

-Yaron Bandell.
Capitol Free-mo
[email protected]

01/02/2026

Call for modules: Jan-31/Feb-1 Great Scale Model Train Show - Timonium, MD

The Capitol Free-mo group invites you to be part of our January 31st and February 1st setup at the Great Scale Models Train Show. This setup is at the "Cow Palace" on the Maryland State Fairgrounds in Timonium, MD. Yes, this is the weekend after the Amherst train show.

Setup starts at 1pm on Friday January 30th and goes on until 8pm. We're located in the North hall of the Cow Palace with likely a 90x38 space. There is drive in access into the show halls through multiple overhead doors. If you can’t make it until Saturday morning, we will work with you.

Saturday we gain access to the show at 7am with the show opening at 9am and closing at 5pm sharp. On Sunday we can get in at 8am, with the show opening at 9am and lasts till 3pm. We start minor teardown activities around 2:45pm and typically finish up by 5pm.

The venue is easily reached from I-83, which connects to I-81 in Harrisburg PA. Timonium itself is just north of the Baltimore Beltway (I-695). I-70, I-83, I-95 all connect to I-695.
There are nearby restaurants, hotels and motels. There is a Baltimore Light Rail station behind the show hall if you want to go for a ride.

We're posting this in a number of locations so we apologize if you see multiple postings. If interested to join our setup, please:

- reply on the Capitolfreemo@groups dot io list, or:
- direct email to [email protected]

09/06/2025

The Capitol Free-mo group invites you to be part of our October 25th and 26th setup at the Great Scale Models Train Show. This setup is at the "Cow Palace" on the Maryland State Fairgrounds in Timonium, MD.

Setup starts at 1pm on Friday October 24th and goes on until 8pm. We're located in the North hall of the Cow Palace with a 38x90 space. There is drive in access into the show halls through multiple overhead doors. If you can’t make it until Saturday morning, we will work with you.

Saturday we gain access to the show at 7am with the show opening at 9am and closing at 5pm sharp. On Sunday we can get in at 8am, with the show opening at 9am and lasts till 4pm. We start minor teardown activities around 3:45pm and typically finish up by 6pm.

The venue is easily reached from I-83, which connects to I-81 in Harrisburg PA. Timonium itself is just north of the Baltimore Beltway (I-695). I-70, I-83, I-95 all connect to I-695.
There are nearby restaurants, hotels and motels. There is a Baltimore Light Rail station behind the show hall if you want to go for a ride.

We're posting this in a number of locations so we apologize if you see multiple postings. If interested to join our setup, please:

- reply on the Capitolfreemo Groups IO list, or:
- direct email to: info AT capitolfreemo.org

08/28/2024

A photo overview of the layout at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania this past weekend. The layout was about 133 feet long and provided about 210 feet of mainline for us to use.

02/06/2024

Here's the walk around video from our February 2024 setup at the Timonium train show. This was taken just before the show opened Saturday morning. This is the first time Yaron completely assembled the P&R bridge.

Walkaround video of the joint Capitol Free-mo and NE Corridor setup, featuring the first complete assembly of Yaron Bandell's 56-foot-long model of the P&R b...

02/04/2024

Currently set up at in the North Hall of the Great Scale Model Train Show in Timonium, Maryland is our largest layout to date. Including this non-compressed replica of the Philadelphia & Reading bridge over the Susquehanna river in Harrisburg, PA. Here it links the Capitol Free-mo and the Northeast Corridor (NECHS) layouts. By the end of day one of the show a monster freight train roughly sixty feet long was dispatched from layout to the next.

01/30/2024

Several members of Capitol Free-mo joined several other groups in West Springfield, Massachusetts for the big Amherst show. A lot of fun was had by all even as we dodged snowflakes.

08/20/2023

Some pictures from our setup at the Railway Museum of Pennsylvania in Strasburg, PA.

08/19/2023

We have a hundred foot layout all along one platform.

Don’t miss Model Railroading Days tomorrow, Saturday and Sunday — August 18, 19 and 20 — at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania. It’s a fun family event for all ages. Watch the world of operating model trains in action and see static displays from a variety of different participating groups and clubs, as well as the Museum’s own two operating HO layouts. Learn more: https://www.rrmuseumpa.org/three-days-of-model-railroading