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Mission Statement - Our main goal is to provide a place for Milwaukee School of Engineering students to expand their knowledge of the model railroading hobby through an environment where all share a common, broad interest in trains and railroading as well as to promote the hobby in our area.
About the Club - The MSOE Society of Model Engineers was founded in 1965 to provide MSOE students a way to explore and develop their skills in model railroading, a hobby that puts many things MSOE students learn to practical use. We are currently building our fourth layout. Read the SOME History page for more details.
Our HO Scale layout represents an actual railroad line, specifically the Canadian National (Formerly Wisconsin Central) line between Burlington and Cedar Lake, Wisconsin, a distance of about 60 miles. The midpoint of the modeled area is Waukesha, about 20 miles west of Milwaukee, which is close enough for us to model it fairly accurately. Learn more about the Current CC Building layout.
The Overland Western Lines, or OWL for short, is our fictional “home-road.” In other words, it is the railroad we primarily model as a club, but since it doesn’t really exist, no one can tell us we’re wrong. The OWL has existed almost as long as the club, and has been the name of every railroad the club has built. Read the Overland Western Lines Story or look at the Map.
Membership Information - No previous model railroading experience is required to be an S.O.M.E. member, only an interest in model trains, and we accept members from all majors in addition to faculty and staff. Our membership consists of people with different modeling skills and interests within the hobby. (See contact information).
Our meetings during the Spring 2008 quarter start on Wednesdays at 7pm. Feel free to drop by. Our club room (CC356 Located behind the bookstore and to the left) is open whenever we are working on the layout. Everyone is welcome to stop by and look around.
Our main activities in the club involve layout work and operations. Members have access to the layout room at any time during building hours, and can often be found in the layout room throughout the day. TrainTime is our annual spring train show at MSOE featuring layouts and vendors from the Milwaukee area. This event is planned all year and is the most important event for the club. We also take tours and have operating sessions at other area layouts on occasion and host the Association of Model Railroad Clubs’ All-Star Railroad Night once a month.
S.O.M.E. also has strong ties to its alumni, some of whom have formed the Overland Western Lines group. We participate in several alumni work sessions and operating sessions on alumni layouts throughout the year, and we help the alumni display their portable layout at local train shows such as Trainfest at State Fair Park every November.
The Society of Model Engineers can make MSOE an even more worthwhile for those with an interest in trains. If you are interested in joining, stop by, or e-mail us at some@msoe.edu
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