The Medford Garden Railroaders are on track to showcase a massive model railway at the Rogue Valley Mall for the second year, offering a festive sight for local train buffs and mall visitors alike.

While the trains may be at the model scale, the holiday display in its entirety is anything but — set to be 32 feet by 25 feet with two railways, as well as a few additional smaller train displays.

“There are going to be multiple layouts there; two of them are specifically designed for Christmas, and there are other small layouts with trains that people can look at,” said Shane Waggoner, president of Medford Garden Railroaders. “And there’ll be a little (train display) for kids to operate.”

The holiday train display will be available 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 29, through Tuesday, Dec. 31, in the storefront formerly occupied by the Eddie Bauer clothing store, on the second floor of the Rogue Valley Mall, 1600 N. Riverside Ave., Medford.

Admission is free, though donations are welcome.

The Railroaders member participants contribute to the train display using a modular approach, allowing each person to add locations and elements to the display such as buildings, foliage, an ice rink and other winter-themed segments as part of the overall layout.

“Each member takes a plywood spot and sets it up for Christmas or Halloween or whatever we’re doing at the time,” Waggoner said. “We don’t have any kind of requirements; we let you have a part regardless of art ability and you can do what you want.”

Whether the pieces are hand-made, produced with a 3D printer or store-bought, each participant adds their creative work to fit into the overall display.

Currently, Waggoner and other organizers are actively assembling the main display and other model train arrangements before adding final touches just ahead of the Black Friday opening.

Medford Garden Railroaders was founded in 1993, formerly known as Southern Oregon Large Scale Trains.

Outside of its holiday display, the organization designs and works the Medford Railroad Park, located at 799 Berrydale Ave. in Medford. The park, opened in 1979, includes a large-scale garden railroad with run days held the second and fourth Sunday of the month April through October. Medford Garden Railroaders members operate the trains and are one hand to answer questions from curious attendees.

With many Railroaders getting older, Waggoner and other members hope to spread the love of trains to younger generations to keep the hobby alive in the Rogue Valley.

“We need young blood to come in and take over for us,” Waggoner said. “They have new ideas and talent to bring to the table.”

Waggoner’s train hobby began, fittingly, after his father gifted his brother and him a train set for Christmas as an 8-year-old.

“My bro and I, when we were kids, we loved trains … and I’ve loved trains since,” he said.

Since he started leading the Medford Garden Railroaders, Waggoner and other members have been working to get more families involved in the club as well as giving the public the opportunity to see what they do up close with free displays to check out.

“We actually had 18 members sign up from mall last year, and four of those families have become active members,” he said.

Last month, the Railroaders had a Halloween-themed train display set up at the mall for the first time, and organizers aim to continue providing model train displays for the community to admire free of charge.

“We want it to stay free; there are not many things out there that are free anymore,” Waggoner said.

To keep up to date on the Medford Garden Railroaders and the group’s train displays and other information, see facebook.com/Medfordrailroadpark.

The group can also be found at medfordgardenrailroaders.org.