We've been producing O gauge layout stories since 1987. The first HO DVD we produced featured the giant layout at the Museum of Science & Industry in Chicago.

Recently we came across three HO club layouts that were so impressive we felt we had to tell their stories. So here we go... American HO Model Railroads.

First stop - the Lake County Model Railroad Club of Wauconda, Illinois has operated in an 1,800 square-foot facility since 1971. Their layout captures the late 1940s with a 360-foot single-track mainline, 149 turnouts, six passing sidings, and several interchanges.

Next, the Duneland Model Railroad Club of Michigan City, Indiana. Their 2,000-square foot layout occupies four rooms and has a 325-foot mainline with 256 turnouts that access over 90 industries with staging tracks, sidings, and interchanges.

Our final stop is the Blissfield Model Railroad Club of Blissfield, Michigan. Their mainline runs 2,994 feet and includes 320 turnouts, a classification yard, two staging yards, and a giant steel mill.

All three clubs convene for prototypical operating sessions where trains are created and dispatched on scheduled runs to deliver freight to various industries. They use the Digitrax remote control system.