  In the old Rockdale clubrooms the HO layout occupied a special purpose-built annexe to the main hall. This layout was a point-to-point double track mainline bent 180 degrees in a hairpin shape. Through the wall and into the main hall area went the line that lead to READ. This station was named after Norman Read BEM, one of the founding members of AMRA NSW. It represented an industrial area.
For the purpose of control, the layout was divided into "mainline" and "yards". The "mainline" was controlled from a Central Train Control (CTC) panel, where each block section of track could be under the control of one of five hand-held cab controllers. Each "yard" had at least one dedicated cab controller, with the facility for trains to be under mainline control if desired.
 Some HO enthusiasts amongst the AMRA NSW members formed the Prototype Operating Group which met at the clubrooms each month. This group operated to a timetable — literally "running trains" the way the real things do. This running will resume as the new HO layout comes into being at Mortdale.
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