Shell Point Retirement Village, on the Gulf Coast of Florida, has an excellent railroad "club" and room, open to the public, with attendees there (from the facility) as guides. We took our grandchildren there, and their parents as well as the kids (and grandparents) loved it.
The layout is 43' X 41' L-shaped, HO Scale, very detailed, and is actually a depiction of the entire State of Florida.
There is a depiction of major cities (Orlando, Miami, Jacksonville, etc.), Disney World, etc. (see below), and they run passenger as well as freight trains all around the layout using DCC control. Vehicles run around the streets, activated using magnets underneath. There is a small circle layout of "O" Gauge, N gauge and S gauge also.
This list of features, from the Shell Point website:
- Freight yards in Pensacola
- Tallahassee's old Capitol Building and new Executive Building
- Gator Bowl in Gainesville, with working message board on Goodyear blimp
- Disney World attractions
- Bok Singing and Citrus Towers
- Kennedy Space Center, with space shuttle Columbia taking off from the launch pad
- Resort buildings and hotels along the east coast (Palm Beach and Miami)
- Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Fort Lauderdale, with audible organ
- Everglades, with wildlife
- Sanibel lighthouse
- Shell Point (retirement village) itself
