The Riverbend Club was founded in 1992 and has constructed and dismantled HO train layouts in four different locations and is presently located in the basement of Sunset Manor in Jenison, Michigan. In September of 2015 work was started at Sunset Manor on a HO scale re-incarnation of the fictitious Superior Northern railroad that had previously been constructed at a different location and then dismantled.  The old modular GR&I layout that had been operating at Sunset Manor since 2007 has been dismantled.  The new Superior Northern is a model incorporating the operations and tracks of the DSS&A, CNW and LS&I railroads operating around 1960 in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.  Major towns included are Sault Ste. Marie, St. Ignace, Newberry, Marquette, Munising, and Ishpeming.  All the track has been laid and the first operating session was conducted on August 22, 2019. Check this website’s Construction page for information on general construction progress and pictures.  The Operations page has the layout diagrams (all printable), specific construction information on each major feature in the layout, comparison to the original Superior Northern, prototype pictures and information, and general information links about that feature.  Check the About Us page for more information on the past history and layouts of the club.

The video below was shot in January, 2023 and is just over 10 minutes long. The video starts at the International Railroad Bridge over the Soo Locks at Sault Ste. Marie and covers the railroad route to just west of Ishpeming, Michigan.  The club also models the route from Soo Junction to St. Ignace, Munising Junction to Munising, and Ishpeming to Escanaba but these routes are not covered in this video.  Click on bottom right of video for full screen video, ESC to return to normal screen.