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The Railrunners Model Railroad Club will hold its annual free open house at their club layout in the Grand Meadow Business Center in Grand Meadow.  

The event will be open to the public 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 12 and noon to 4 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 13. 

The club is returning to its open house after two years when the COVID-19 pandemic prevented the event in both 2020 and 2021. The event is free and is a great opportunity for families to bring their children and grandchildren.  

Small children need to be accompanied by parents, grandparents, or another adult.  The Grand Meadow Business Center, located at 209 2nd Avenue NE, is next to the city park.   

Members come from the Rochester and Austin areas as well as some coming from as far away as Northfield, and Stacyville, Iowa. Club members typically gather on Wednesdays and often on Sundays for train operating sessions and to work on the layout. 

The open house offers opportunities to welcome guests from the Austin area and the surrounding region. Currently there are about 15 members, though new members are definitely welcome. Information about the club and applications for membership will be available at the open house. 

The models are authentic replicas of prototype trains that have operated in the United States.   Some models, however, feature Thomas the Tank Engine and trains in Great Britain. Many of the models make actual railroad diesel or steam sounds, have train horns or whistles, bells, and even sounds of brakes being released or applied. The layout is an HO scale layout that fills a classroom of the former Grand Meadow Elementary School in Grand Meadow.  

Guests may enter the building by either the north or south doors and go to Room 119 in the second hall. Members of the club will be available to answer any questions and to demonstrate train operation.