By Lea Florentine | November 6, 2025
The Pacific Southern Model Railroad Club — with renewed energy thanks to new owner and member James Murray, known as “Murr” on TBS’ “Impractical Jokers” — will open its doors at 26 Washington Street in Rocky Hill on November 22 and 23.
Princeton residents Murr and Melyssa Murray in the Rocky Hill house they purchased earlier this year for Melyssa’s No. 95 Candles business.
Murr and his wife Melyssa will be at the open house to greet attendees at a tent on the front lawn. While guests check in, they can take photos with Murr and grab a complimentary cup of coffee, tea, or hot cocoa.
Attendees may also become members of the club and purchase Melyssa’s No. 95 candles. Proceeds from the annual event will be donated to Rocky Hill EMS squad and the fire company.
There will be a food truck on the lawn and the backyard garage will be open, with the train display, skee ball, and tabletop basketball.
Tickets are expected to go fast, so reserve a spot now at pacificsouthern.org.
Thanks to Murr, the model rail club in sleepy Rocky Hill as experience a “renaissance,” according to club member Ameen Ghannam.
In fact, several members have referred to Murr as the club’s chief marketing officer.
In addition to purchasing the property which houses the model railroad, Murr updated the club website and introduced the concept of “virtual” members in which railroad enthusiasts worldwide may join the club and participate in online activities.
Murr also added a junior membership option for minors. Previously, the club was adults only. As a result of these measures, membership has sky rocketed. The number of local members who participate in person has increased as well, according to club president Jeff Bernardis.
“Several dozen people have joined,” he said.
Princeton residents Murr and Melyssa Murray in the Rocky Hill railroad house with members of The Pacific Southern Model Railroad Club.
Murr painted the large garage in the backyard and redecorated after the producers of “Impractical Jokers” relocated their New York City office. The ceiling is now covered with donated corrugated metal sheets, and the floor is a glossy copper color.
Club members also are building benches in the backyard garage to display a 230-foot train layout donated by the Muscoot Valley Railroad Club that was in Armonk, New York. In front of the property on Washington Street, a large sign publicizing the show has been installed – so passersby cannot miss it!
On November 2, Murr will receive the 2025 National Model Railroad Association’s (NMRA) “Service to the Hobby” award at Trainfest in Milwaukee. The NMRA is recognizing Murray for “his exceptional contributions to preserving and promoting model railroading through his instrumental role in saving the 60 year old model railroad club.”
For the first time, the club will go on the road, with a table and display at Trainfest and at the Amherst Model Railroad Show in January. Murr and Bernardis said tables at Amherst, with nearly 30,000 attendees, are “highly coveted.”
The club will also be at the NMRA convention and train show in Chattanooga, Tennessee next July.
Cat Plunkett of Rocky Hill, a club member, summed up the members’ diverse talents and how they all contribute to the railroad’s quality.
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“Everyone has unique backgrounds and we all get to use them,” Plunkett said.
Employed in the pharmaceutical industry, she joined the model railroad club a couple years ago to work on scenery. At a recent meeting, she was training Ghannam on the Train Tracker software.
She points out, “I went from art to software!”
Train Tracker was written by club member Bernardis to display which trains are running; their routes; and any conflicts.
Bernardis explains, “Five different computers all running my software are networked together to control the layout.” He recently wrote 70,000 lines of code to upgrade this software.
The club is selling four different types of custom HO-scale box cars, commemorating the club’s founder Bob Latham.
For sale: A commemorative, custom Pacific Southern Railway Boxcar.
Subsequent owners included Geoff Green, Carl and Anne Pate, and now James and Melyssa Murray. The commemorate box cars are available for $40 on the club’s website, and will also be sold at the open house while they last.
The club plans to offer a custom Pacific Southern (PS) Model Railroad Club locomotive and train set next year. Bernardis says of the open house, “This is one of the things that sets our club apart.” The PS Model Railroad Holiday train shows will be held November 22 and 23 on the half hour from 10 am to 5 pm at 26 Washington Street in Rocky Hill.
Admission is $10 per person (age 10 and under are free). Tickets can be purchased online ($2.51 Event Brite fee) via credit or debit card, PayPal, or Google Pay; or at the door, if available, with cash or credit card.
Parking is on the street, so arrive early. All proceeds will benefit Rocky Hill’s First Aid and Rescue Squad and Fire Department.
Visit pacificsouthern.org, or the Pacific Southern Railroad Facebook page, for more information or to purchase tickets online.
The Pacific Southern Railway is a 5,000-square-foot HO-scale layout with more than 12,000 feet of hand-laid track located in Rocky Hill. It has been a cornerstone of model railroading since 1964. After the passing of longtime steward Carl Pate III in 2024, the club faced uncertainty. The star of truTV’s hit show “Impractical Jokers: — James “Murr” Murray — and his wife Melyssa stepped up to secure the layout’s future by purchasing the property for approximately $1.3 million. Murr is a self described “train buff” and now is a member of the club.
