From a few of my previous blog articles, you might recall that one of my goals for LITCA is to establish relationships with the other model train clubs on Long Island, NY.

The Trainmasters of Babylon (TMB) club members have been great spokespersons for the hobby for decades. LITCA members and I have frequently enjoyed visiting their Farmingdale club layout’s open houses – always a treat – both in watching the trains run flawlessly as well as the fantastic scenery. I’ve picked up a number of ideas to enhance Warrenville from these visits.

In the front area one would find the original layout used in the famous Soprano’s HBO series’ shooting scene

Unfortunately, two years ago, TMB lost their lease and had to demolish the Farmingdale layout. They were able to, however, save several of its structures and, most importantly (to me at least), the huge hand made wooden trestle that welcomed everyone as they walked in.

Fortunately, they found a bigger, and IMHO, better home for a new layout in Dix Hills, NY. Construction of this new layout has been happening at breakneck speed.

TMB held its first open houses for the new layout this winter (2024-25). I was at the first one with a couple other LITCA members. What did we see? A 6,500 square foot layout under construction. Structure and plywood base in place, much wiring done, tracks laid, including a 120 foot straight away. Buildings and structures from the previous layout were placed about in the approximate locations they will be in as scenery efforts begin and evolve.

The huge wooden trestle was in place as was the Soprano’s layout.  Most importantly, there were trains running!

This morning, February 4, 2025, I was happy to see a full page article on TMB and their new layout in the widely read NY Post Newspaper. Here is a photo of that article. They described it a lot better than I could.