LIFESTYLES

It’s all aboard at model railroad club open house

By John Howell
Posted 12/9/15

All it takes is a couple of steps, and time spins back to August 1985.

John Roberts of Conimicut and a whole bunch of other men are inviting the public to take those steps this Saturday and …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

E-mail
Password
Log in
LIFESTYLES

It’s all aboard at model railroad club open house

Posted

All it takes is a couple of steps, and time spins back to August 1985.

John Roberts of Conimicut and a whole bunch of other men are inviting the public to take those steps this Saturday and visit Providence Northern Model Railroad Club. You won’t have to go to Providence to find them either.

The club left Providence about seven years ago and relocated to the Old Warwick Grange on West Shore Road, not far from the intersection of Tidewater Drive. Soon after the move and the start of a 25-year lease, there was a fire in the grange hall, which turned out not to be such a bad thing for the club. While they lost some items, rebuilding meant new windows, ceilings, wiring and an opportunity to plan and build an HO gauge system that makes stops at Union Station in Providence, St. Johnsbury, Vt. and places along the way.

“This is a snapshot in time,” says Roberts of the vast setup, which has tracks looping back and forth over trestles, through tunnels, across farmland and alongside a brewery, paper mill and distribution warehouses. But although the houses, model cars and rail equipment fits the 1985 calendar, the control system and even the engines, no longer than six inches, are straight out of the digital age.

It’s one reason club president Wayne Mollohan says model railroading can be as much fun to millennials as it is to the old timers who can recall the days of steam engines.

Mollohan said some club members are into replicating buildings and scenes to the point that, when photographed, you wouldn’t know them from the real place. Others enjoy the logistics and the planning that goes into an “operations session” when as many as 15 trains are running and an intricate program of moving freight cars, requiring switching and timing, takes the cooperative efforts of as many as a dozen members.

It’s those times that the model most approaches an operating railroad.

“It’s like a giant, moving puzzle,” says Mollohan. “It’s a make-believe world where you escape the real world for four or five hours.”

Last Saturday, the guys – there are no women members currently – were talking trains and working on the set, such as brushing ballast between track ties. Bob LaMontagne was there to run his train, although if you were going to adhere to the 1985 rule, his rig had seen its day. His steam-driven locomotive pulled a series of passenger cars. Bells clanged, a whistle sounded, and the huff-huff of the engine gaining momentum reverberated.

LaMontagne controlled the sound effects and the train’s operation from a device about the size of a TV remote. Chips within the engine are numbered, thereby allowing the operator to control multiple trains simultaneously.

Despite the technology that goes into running the trains and its appeal to those who have grown up playing video games, LaMontagne says model trains are largely an older guy’s hobby.

“By the time you get enough money to play with this hobby, you’re older,” he says.

For John Breitmaier, or “JB,” model railroading is somewhat an extension of his career. He started as a conductor with Penn Central and then went on the Conrail and eventually Amtrak before retiring. He doesn’t miss the work, and with the club he can be next to the rails and running the show without being in the cold or getting wet. Breitmaier’s specialty is scenery.

On his to-do list was installing mailboxes in front of the homes in Clavinville, a make-believe hamlet with a meaning. It is named for Bill Clavin, who was a club member and is now deceased.

The club, with 35 members, meets pretty much every Saturday afternoon. Visitors are welcome between noon and 4 p.m., with the exception of operating sessions, and can just drop by. Membership is $25 a month and provides access at any time of day or night.

“You can come in and play trains at 2 in the morning, if you like,” says Roberts.

Members have lock boxes where they keep their trains, but can use anything left out on the set. If they break something, they’re expected to repair or replace it.

As for building out the set – and there are portions that remain to be worked on – a member may submit plans that are reviewed and approved upon by the club.

Saturday’s open house runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. There will be plenty of track traffic and, guaranteed, lots of train talk. The entry fee is $2 for adults, $5 a family and children under 12 free. The club has a Facebook page and website.

Comments

No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here