The Moscow Railroad Amateurs’ Club

The Moscow railroad Amateurs’ Club de facto exists since 1965 when a couple of modelists and collectors arranged regular meetings at one of Moscow toy supermarkets.

In April, 1969, the club was formally founded as the Moscow Railroad Modeling Club. It obtained two rooms in the Central Railroad House of Culture near the Kazan Station in Moscow. About 50 enthusiasts formed the club, 12 of them were railroaders. Dmitry Bobkov was elected the first Chairman.

In the next year, the modelists built a scale model of a railroad in 1/87 (also 1:87, HO or H0) scale. Later it was united with the second model presented by our friends from the German Democratic Republic. Meetings and parties with railroad veterans and specialists took place and the cinema hall regularly worked.

A bit later the enthusiasts started the search and preservation of rare old locomotives and rail cars. We managed to save a couple of historical steam locomotives of the S, Su and P36 series. These machines were put as monuments. In 1988, the Club formally changed the name as its activity was no more limited to modeling.

Now the Club has got over 100 members coupled into two main sections. The modeling section is one of them, and the second is the historical section. Its members take photos and video, male scientific research and still try to preserve the survived old machinery and architecture. Publications and exhibitions are made and books issued.

The Club is headed by Mikhail Kechetov, Chairman since 2005.