The HO-scale model railroad, located in the basement of the Niles Depot, depics a single division of a class one railroad. This division provides passenger and freight service from the San Francisco Bay Area, across the California Central Valley, through the Sierra Nevada Mountains and into the Nevada desert. The majority of the mainline is single track, but several sidings allow for bi-directional travel and busy traffic. Known as the Niles Western Railroad, the railroad does not represent a particular California railroad, but is reminiscent of many that operated after WWII and into the present. The scenery and structures are kept generic such that any era seems plausible.
Geographic differences are apparent in the scenery as one travels the route east from the Bay Area.