The Short Track Railroad (Originally the Short Trak’N Railroad Club) was formed in 1991 by four modelers in San Diego County, California. Our initial goal was to build and show an NTRAK layout at the National Model Railroad Association (NMRA), Pacific Southwest Region (PSR) 1992 annual convention. And have fun doing it. The convention that year was held in Laughlin, Nevada. We built eight modules consisting of four 4′ straight and four 3′ corners to form a 10′ X 10′ layout. Most of those original modules have been refurbished and are still in service today.

Our regular meetings were held in the back of Short’s Hobbies operated by Marilyn Short in Escondido, CA. In appreciation of Marilyn’s generosity for providing meeting space the club was named in her honor. After a successful showing at the Laughlin PSR convention, the club grew in membership and number of modules. The Club met twice a month and we also began to exhibit the growing railroad at local schools, churches, and retirement homes in addition to other regional conventions and at the 1996 NMRA National convention held in Long Beach, California.

The club always attended the Great American Train Shows (GATS) in San Diego and Del Mar and often went as far as Anaheim and Costa Mesa. Short Track RR was usually awarded a first or second prize at these shows.

In 1998 Short Track signed a contract to exhibit at the annual summer San Diego County Fair at the Del Mar Fairgrounds. In 2002 we joined the Antique Gas & Steam Engine Museum (AGSEM) in Vista, CA where we began construction of a year round facility and exhibits. After exhibiting at the San Diego County Fair for ten years our responsibilities at the AGSEM Harvest Fair Shows made it impossible to continue at the Del Mar Fair.