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RR Memorabilia: |
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Inspirations |
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Utilities: |
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THIS
section is intended to illustrate several examples of some things which
inspired me to either build or buy a model of something which would resemble
the actual place or item.
New York Central Railroad
Class DRS-6a RS3
'The pride of the NORMANED
fleet' |
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NYC #8223 prototype photographed at DeWitt, Syracuse, N.Y.
(26 September 1988) |
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Weaver/Quality Craft model #8329, custom-built with electronic
control and delivered that same year |
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New York Central Caboose
19877 |
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Beautifully
restored No. 19877 is on display at the Rochester & Genesee
Railroad Museum near Rochester, N.Y. (to view a panoramic view
of the interior of the restored car, go to
Interior). |
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A scale model of
No. 19877 was itself “restored” by the author with extensive
remodeling of the crude item (inset) purchased at a “junk sale”
35 years ago. |
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Brooks Ave. Depot, Rochester & Southern RR Division,
Genesee & Wyoming System |
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The Rochester &
Southern's unique combination depot and switch tower at its
Brooks Ave. yard (left) provided our idea to create the model on
the right (using “selective compression”). The yard was built by
the Buffalo, Rochester & Pittsburgh Railway in 1913, and since
has been used successively by the Baltimore & Ohio RR, the
Chessie System, CSX and, since 1988, the R&S - a subsidiary of
the Genesee and Wyoming, which was founded in 1895 as a 14-mile
shortline railroad transporting rock salt from a mine in Retsof,
N.Y. The GNW now is the parent company of 18 regional railroads
in four countries on two continents (U.S., Canada, Mexico and
Australia); and Rail Link, Inc., a major provider of railroad
switching and related services. |
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The Arlington Hotel - Hilton,
N.Y. |
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Boyhood
recollections and the photograph [left] of a portion of
the old Arlington Hotel (built 1897) in Hilton, N.Y. provided
the inspiration for the construction of the O-scale model
structure at right, located in the imaginary resort hamlet of
Panthorne on THE NORMANED RAILROAD. This long-time “watering
hole extraordinaire” was demolished in 1967, and the
space which it had occupied is now (some veteran village
residents say appropriately) part of the parking lot of an
enlarged Baptist church. |
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The John Bull - Camden & Amboy Railroad - 1831 |
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This Bachmann® HO scale model [above] of the John Bull
(originally called the Stevens) honors the world’s oldest
complete and operational locomotive. Patterned after his Samson
Class 0-4-0, Robert Stephenson and Co. of New Castle, England, built
the original John Bull for Robert L. Stevens, president and
chief engineer of the Camden & Amboy Railroad (later integrated into
the Pennsylvania Railroad). The locomotive arrived disassembled in
Philadelphia in August 1831. In just 10 days, it was reassembled in
Bordentown, N.J. from unlabeled parts, thanks to the remarkable
efforts of a master mechanic named Isaac Drips, who had never before
even seen a locomotive. Limited service began in 1832, with regular
service instituted in 1833. In 1893, a restored version of the
locomotive ran from Jersey City to Chicago for showing at the
Columbian Exposition; in 1927 it participated in the “Fair of the
Iron Horse” which commemorated the centennial of the Baltimore &
Ohio Railroad. It was displayed also at the World’s Fairs in Chicago
and New York in 1933 and 1939, respectively. Finally, in 1981, 150
years after leaving the factory of Robert Stephenson in England, the
John Bull was operated again on one last run along the rails
of Washington D.C.’s Old Georgetown Branch. The locomotive is now
preserved at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.,
complete with additions made over the years to the original
four-wheel, wood-framed import [below]. |
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The Highland Park Diner
(Rochester, N.Y.) |
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Not
a railroad car, but a “railroad car diner,” Rochester's Highland
Park Diner was built on site in 1948, and continues to operate in
the style and ambience of that era. The ceramic model - nearly
perfect HO scale size - is by the Franklin Mint, and was obtained
for use on the NORMANED's H & O Division. The distinctive “EAT”
sign, visible in both pictures, has been for years a local landmark
for this “eatery.” |
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Monroe County (N.Y.) Power Plant |
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The real power
plant on the left, which supplies electricity and heat for
county public facilities, was the prototype for the model on the
right, which is portrayed as the source of light for most
portions of the NORMANED RAILROAD. |
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The DeWitt Clinton - Mohawk & Hudson RR - 1831 |
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The top image is
an artist's conception of the pioneer DeWitt Clinton 0-4-0
locomotive's maiden run on August 9, 1831, from Albany to
Schenectady, N.Y. in 46 minutes on the Mohawk & Hudson Railroad
line. This train, named after the “father of the Erie Canal,”
was the third public carrier to operate under steam in the U.S.
(portions of the Erie Canal are still in operation within a mile
of the present home of the NORMANED RR). In the bottom image is
shown the Bachmann® fine-scale HO model of the Clinton and three
carriages, which is the last new model to be acquired by the
NORMANED's H & O Division. [It was a Christmas present to the
proprietor from his wife in 1999 - perhaps prophetic of the
coming “resurrection” a year later (go to Why
this Web Site?).] |
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