Presenting the rich history of Pelham, NY in Westchester County: current historical research, descriptions of how to research Pelham history online and genealogy discussions of Pelham families.
Thursday, September 28, 2017
1936 Announcement that Pelham Manor Depot Would Be Re-Purposed as Model Train Headquarters
For years after the New Haven Branch Line stopped running passenger service at the beautiful little Pelham Manor Depot designed by noted architect Cass Gilbert, a model railroad club used the station. The Westchester Model Club, Inc. built a massive model railroad that even included a tiny replica of the very Pelham Manor Depot within which the model railroad sat. The Club used the Depot until late April 1953 when the building had to be demolished to make way for today's I-95, the New York Thruway. The Club and its model railroad attracted national attention. The O-Gauge model railroad was a marvel of miniature engineering operated with time-table precision over about 3,500 to 4,000 feet of track (the equivalent of about 27 scale miles). The miniature railroad was believed at the time to be the longest model railroad of its type in the world. When the club held another of its annual public viewings of the model railroad over two weekends in 1946, it attracted more than 3,000 visitors. Newspapers and magazines throughout the nation wrote breathlessly about the amazing model railroad maintained by the Club in the little depot in Pelham Manor, New York. Many still living in Pelham remember visiting the model railroad in the old Pelham Manor Depot. I have written about Westchester Model Club, Inc. and its model railroad before. See, e.g.: Wed., Dec. 14, 2016: History of the World Record Pelham Manor Model Railroad of the Westchester Model Club. Thu., Jul. 09, 2015: The Model Railroad Once Housed in the Abandoned Pelham Manor Station on the New Haven Branch Line. Fri., Apr. 09, 2010: The Closing of the "Eastern Railroad" of the Westchester Model Club, Inc. in the Pelham Manor Depot in 1953. Tue., Oct. 13, 2009: Film of the Westchester Model Club, Inc.'s Model Railroad in the Pelham Manor Depot Before its Demolition. Tue., Apr. 21, 2009: 1950 Article Mentions Model Railroading Club That Used Pelham Manor Depot. Today's Historic Pelham article provides additional information about the announcement that the club would take over the deserted Pelham Manor Depot in 1936. An article that appeared in The Pelham Sun on October 30, 1936 reflected the announcement and, significantly, provided the names of a number of Pelham residents who were involved with the venture. Edwin P. Alexander of New Rochelle was the moving force behind the club's decision to move its headquarters from a tiny location in New Rochelle to the spacious Pelham Manor Depot. Alexander was president of the American Model Railroad Co., Inc. which manufactured parts for miniature railroads. He and his company were known for the construction of an amazing Baltimore & Ohio model railroad exhibit at the Empire State Building that drew crowds of visitors in Manhattan. Edwin P. Alexander had help in moving the club headquarters members of the club from Pelham. Those members included William F. Crosby of Pelham Manor who was the editor of Rudder, and Charles A. Penn, also of Pelham Manor, editor of Mechanical Craftsman.
On October 30, 1936, The Pelham Sun reported that the deserted Pelham Manor Depot would be used again and would see new life as the headquarters of The Westchester Model Club, Inc. The newspaper reported: "'Two tickets for Pelham Manor' -- Once a common phrase with commuters when the Branch Line of the New Haven Railroad, was a popular mode of transportation, has been all but forgotten these thirteen years since passenger service on the line was discontinued. However The Pelham Sun learned this week that it won't be long until the 'Limited' makes regular stops at Pelham Manor depot. That's not an announcement to rouse the interest of commuters, but it is mighty important to a group of Westchester residents who are interested in the program of the Westchester Model Club. The club has arranged with the New Haven Railroad to use the deserted Pelham Manor depot for a meeting place, and plans now under consideration provide for the installation of one of the largest miniature railroad systems in the metropolitan area within the depot." After years of dormancy, the Pelham Manor Depot would host Pelhamites yet again!
Above is a Fascinating Film of the Model Railroad Inside
the Pelham Manor Station as it is Being Operated by Club
Members in the Early 1950s Before the Station Was Closed
and Demolished. Note that at the 0:35 Second Mark in the
Film, You Will See a Miniature Version of the Pelham
Manor Train Station in Which the Model Railroad is
Being Operated. Click on Image to Begin Video.
* * * * * Below is the text of the announcement published in The Pelham Sun on October 30, 1936. It is followed by a citation and link to its source. "'Limited Trains' Will Stop At The Pelham Manor Depot ----- Miniature Railroad to be Installed in Deserted Pelham Manor Station -- Westchester Model Club Arranges to Hold Its Meetings There. ----- 'Two tickets for Pelham Manor' -- Once a common phrase with commuters when the Branch Line of the New Haven Railroad, was a popular mode of transportation, has been all but forgotten these thirteen years since passenger service on the line was discontinued. However The Pelham Sun learned this week that it won't be long until the 'Limited' makes regular stops at Pelham Manor depot. That's not an announcement to rouse the interest of commuters, but it is mighty important to a group of Westchester residents who are interested in the program of the Westchester Model Club. The club has arranged with the New Haven Railroad to use the deserted Pelham Manor depot for a meeting place, and plans now under consideration provide for the installation of one of the largest miniature railroad systems in the metropolitan area within the depot. Edwin Alexander of New Rochelle, president of the Westchester Model Club explained to The Pelham Sun this week that the use of the depot by his organization will not be for commercial purposes. The Westchester Model Club is composed of mechanically inclined men whose hobby it is to construct model railroads, etc. Its members include William F. Crosby, of Pelham Manor, editor of Rudder; Charles A. Penn, also of Pelham Manor, editor of Mechanical Craftsman. Mr. Alexander is president of the American Model Railroad Co., Inc. which manufactures parts for miniature railroads. His company constructed the Baltimore & Ohio model railroad exhibit at the Empire State Building in New York City. When the branch line was open for passenger service many Pelham Manor commuters used it as a means of conveyance to New York City. From 1910 to 1920 there was twenty minute service between Harlem River and new Rochelle. Before the popularity of the automobile it was the only means of conveyance to City Island and to Pelham Bay section of the Bronx. With the construction of the subway to Pelham Bay Park and the opening of bus lines to City Island, the line lost patronage." Source: Limited Trains' Will Stop At The Pelham Manor Depot -- Miniature Railroad to be Installed in Deserted Pelham Manor Station -- Westchester Model Club Arranges to Hold Its Meetings There, The Pelham Sun, Oct. 30, 1936, Vol. 27, No. 30, p. 1, cols. 7-8.
For a number of years after the New Haven Branch Line stopped running passenger service in December, 1937 at the beautiful little Pelham Manor Depot designed by noted architect Cass Gilbert, a model railroad club was permitted to use the empty station. The Westchester Model Club, Inc. built a massive model railroad that even included a tiny replica of the very Pelham Manor Depot within which the model railroad sat. The Club only used the Depot a few years until late April 1953 when the building had to be demolished to make way for today's I-95, the New York Thruway. The Club and its model railroad attracted national attention. That should come as no surprise. The O-Gauge model railroad was a marvel of miniature engineering operated with time-table precision over about 3,500 to 4,000 feet of track (the equivalent of about 27 scale miles). The miniature railroad was believed at the time to be the longest model railroad of its type in the world. When the club made its model railroad available for viewing, it attracted more than 3,000 visitors over two weekends in 1946. Newspapers and magazines throughout the nation wrote breathlessly about the amazing model railroad built by the Club in the little depot in Pelham Manor, New York. Many still living in Pelham remember visiting the model railroad in the old Pelham Manor Depot. I have written about Westchester Model Club, Inc. and its model railroad before. See, e.g.: Thu., Jul. 09, 2015: The Model Railroad Once Housed in the Abandoned Pelham Manor Station on the New Haven Branch Line. Fri., Apr. 09, 2010: The Closing of the "Eastern Railroad" of the Westchester Model Club, Inc. in the Pelham Manor Depot in 1953. Tue., Oct. 13, 2009: Film of the Westchester Model Club, Inc.'s Model Railroad in the Pelham Manor Depot Before its Demolition. Tue., Apr. 21, 2009: 1950 Article Mentions Model Railroading Club That Used Pelham Manor Depot.
Above is a Fascinating Film of the Model Railroad Inside
the Pelham Manor Station as it is Being Operated by Club
Members in the Early 1950s Before the Station Was Closed
and Demolished. Note that at the 0:35 Second Mark in the
Film, You Will See a Miniature Version of the Pelham
Manor Train Station in Which the Model Railroad is
Being Operated. Click on Image to Begin Video.
Today's posting to the Historic Pelham Blog provides a more definitive history of Westchester Model Club, Inc. and its model railroad in the old Pelham Manor Depot. The Westchester Model Club, Inc. was founded, formally, in September, 1934 at the height of the Great Depression. The story of the club's founding is amusing, at least as told by Popular Mechanics Magazine in its December, 1952 issue: "ALMOST 30 YEARS AGO in New Rochelle, N.Y., six men were having trouble with their wives. The same kind of trouble, for it seems that these men -- Rollin Meyers, James See, George Barkley, A. Q. Smith, Robert Ward and E. P. Alexander -- were busily engaged in building railroad pikes in their homes. As these model railroads expanded to monopolize more and more of their attics and cellars, the wives began to object -- strenuously and vocally. So began the Westchester Model Club. The men moved to Mr. Alexander's attic and in a short time, with all their equipment pooled together, again ran out of space. They moved to a loft and from there, in 1934 [sic; should be 1938], to the present site -- the old Pelham Manor, New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad station. There are now over 3500 feet of O-Gauge cold-rolled-steel track." Source: Rubin, Daniel, "Thursday Night Is Railroad Night" in Popular Mechanics Magazine, Vol. 98, No. 6, pp. 112-115 (Dec. 1952) (note the many terrific images of the model railroad in operation included with this brief article, including an image of the miniature Pelham Manor Depot included in the model railroad). Once the club had outgrown Edwin P. Alexander's attic, it moved its headquarters to 555 Main Street, New Rochelle. There the club began with an entire floor of about 1,500 square feet used for meeting rooms and a workshop. The club appears to have begun building a model railroad at that location in about March, 1936. The model, however, was comparatively modest. It was about 70 feet long according to one report published on March 20, 1936 (see below).
Cover of February, 1938 Issue of The Model Craftsman
Showing "A Scene at the Westchester Model Club,"
Published by Charles A. Penn, a Member of the
Westchester Model Club. This Likely Shows the Model
Railroad in the Club's New Rochelle Headquarters
Shortly Before the Club Moved to Pelham Manor.
While operating in New Rochelle, the club touted its experience and expertise not only in its model railroad, but also in model ships and model airplanes. About the time it built its 70-feet long model railroad it began advertising for visitors and charged admission of 25 cents for adults and 15 cents for children to visit the club and view its models.
1936 Advertisement for Westchester Model Club Show
The Westchester Model Club became one of the most famous and sophisticated such clubs in the nation. Model experts flocked to the club. According to one report, in the club's early years its members included club president and founder Edwin P. Alexander who also was president of the American Model Railroad Company, one of the first three scale model railroad sales firms in the United States. See The Train Collectors Association, E. P. Alexander Trains / American Model Railroad Company (visited Dec. 3, 2016). Another member was Charles A. Penn, publisher of The Model Craftsman Magazine. In its early days, the club had about thirty members principally from Westchester County. The club grew quickly and, indeed, outgrew its New Rochelle Headquarters even after expanding to both the second and third floors in that facility. By 1937, the club had more than 150 members. Members of the club were serious about their hobby. The club did not simply purchase what the members needed to construct their magnificent model railroad. Rather, the club maintained a machine shop in which they manufactured most of what was needed. Indeed, members were so serious about their model railroad that they visited various locomotive works where actual passenger and freight trains were manufactured to hone their own miniature manufacturing skills. A staggering amount of time was devoted to the hobby by members of the club. For example, it took between 100 and 500 hours to build a single miniature locomotive. (The club had 65 of them, every single one manufactured by hand with the exception of the tiny motors within that were purchased.) As the club and its model railroad grew, the New Rochelle headquarters was beginning to bulge at the seams. Then, on December 31, 1937, passenger service on the New Haven Branch Line ended. Consequently, the old Pelham Manor Depot building was closed. Members of the Westchester Model Club, of course, sensed an immediate opportunity. Members of the Club approached the railroad and were able to secure rent-free use of the magnificent stone Pelham Manor Depot designed by famed architect Cass Gilbert as their club headquarters. Over the next few months, members moved the club's operations to the Depot and built a bigger and better model railroad on the first floor of the building. By June 23, 1938 the club had completed the first loop of what it called its "Eastern Lines" model railroad in the Depot with about 1,500 feet of track. Indeed, on that date the club invited H. E. Baily, Superintendent of the New Haven Railroad, for a "golden spike ceremony" to honor the completion of the first loop of the new model railroad in the Pelham Manor Depot. Within days, the club began inviting visitors to view its new facility. See Thu., Jul. 09, 2015: The Model Railroad Once Housed in the Abandoned Pelham Manor Station on the New Haven Branch Line. The following year, the Westchester Model Club began in November, 1939, an annual tradition of opening its model railroad in the Pelham Manor Depot to the public for an annual exhibit for which it charged admission. The annual event grew to be wildly successful. As the size and complexity of the model railroad grew, so did the crowds that attended the exhibition each year. By 1946, the club's model railroad covered the entire ground floor of the Pelham Manor Depot with nearly 4,000 feet of track. Model trains even stopped at a miniature version of the Pelham Manor Depot in which the model railroad was built. Thousands of visitors flocked to the little Pelham Manor Depot during the annual exhibit that year to see the amazing sight of what was touted as the world's largest model railroad. What was it like to visit the model railroad in the Pelham Manor Depot? It was a bustle of activities. It was so large and so complex that it took twenty club members working at once to operate the massive railroad. The operators, acting as operators of freight yards, signals, passenger services, and the like were constantly barking into a loudspeaker system that made the same sort of railroad announcements as the "real" railroads. A written rule book, based on a book issued by the New Haven Railroad, governed all operations and forbid touching any part of the model or trains while in operation (with a few necessary exceptions such as coupling cars to the locomotive in a yard). The trains followed a rigid timetable and moved from miniature city to miniature city -- cities named Central City, Woodstock, Black Rock, Silver Creek, Pineville, Jonesburg, and Oil City. The miniature replica of the Pelham Manor Depot could be found in Central City on the model railroad. Central City was a "key point of the system." The cement used to construct the miniature replica of the Pelham Manor Depot was mixed with a spoon and actual stone was used to recreate the miniature stone station. One newspaper article tried to capture the bustle as follows: "The club members, whose professions are as varied as the types of model trains they build, operate a system known as the Eastern Lines, made up of a main line and an electrified mountain line. For those few hours of fun and relaxation which their hobby affords them each Thursday night, the model railroaders forget such places as Mount Vernon, Pelham and Bronxville, and run their trains between Central City, Woodstock, Black Rock, Silver Creek, Pineville, Jonesburg and Oil City. The trains follow a timetable as rigidly as do their prototypes, and the entire system is operated under a book of rules as strict as that of any bona fide line. In fact, the Westchester Club is the only one which boasts a printed book of rules, based on that of the New Haven Railroad, and revised for model purposes. The trains cannot be touched by hand when the system is operating except for coupling and uncoupling, and for manipulating the locomotives' forward and reverse shift levers. Such talk, over the loudspeaker, as 'First number 29 ready on track 8,' is routine. The yardmaster at Central City is the voice behind that one, and the signalman at Tower TW calls to the Roundhouse foreman for an 'Engine for first 29.' He is busy lining up switches and setting the signal for the heavy passenger locomotive that will pull the first section of the Eastern Lines' crack all-Pullman night train, The Owl." The club took pride in running its model railroad as true to an actual railroad as possible. For example, unlike most model railroads of the day, trains on the Eastern Lines were run in a straight line rather than on a circuit. Although the railroad tracks, of necessity, were laid out in a giant oval (see schematic below), the club never ran trains around and around the giant oval. Rather, trains were run from point-to-point. Thus, the train locomotive and its cars would be coupled together in one yard, would then be brought out onto the line and run to a particular location, and then end their trek in a destination yard. As part of the realistic modeling of the tiny O-Gauge railroad, there were two types of power delivered to the trains as was (and still is) the case on the New Haven Line in the New York region. The main division of the Eastern Lines delivered electric current to the trains via a tiny third rail. The Mountain Division, in contrast, delivered electric current to the trains via tiny overhead wires. The entire Eastern Lines model railroad ran on 22-volt direct current with about two amperes per engine. The system could handle up to five trains in each direction, using over 50,000 feet of wire to deliver power, signals, switch controls and to light model houses, stations, platforms, telephones, and the like. The countryside and landscaping was created with a mixture of plaster of paris and asbestos, applied over half-inch wire mesh, that was painted meticulously. Alas, as the years passed after World War II, the Westchester Model Club's time in Pelham Manor was coming to an end as plans for construction of the New England Thruway ripened. The Thruway design called for the superhighway to run adjacent to the Branch Line tracks through Pelham Manor thus requiring condemnation and demolition of the Pelham Manor Depot used by the club as its headquarters. In early April, 1953, the club announced that it would make the "final runs" of the Eastern Lines from 2:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays during each of three successive weekends beginning on Saturday, April 11 and ending on Sunday, April 26. Visitors were invited to attend. By the the time of the model railroad's final run on Sunday, April 26, 1953, the system remained so large and complex that, once again, it took twenty members of the club to run it. There were more than 3,500 feet of track. There were 50,000 feet of wire, 65 locomotives, 500 freight cars and 150 passenger cars, all built by hand meticulously to scale. Most of the equipment was built in the club's machine shop. On that sad day, another small chapter in the railroad history of Pelham ended.
Design Schematic Showing Layout of the Eastern Lines
of the Westchester Model Club, Inc. in the Pelham Manor
Depot at About the Time the Depot Was Closed in 1953.
NOTE: Click on Image to Enlarge.
* * * * * "Model Club Makes Miniature Railroad ----- Thirty county residents, including one young man of Scarsdale, make up the membership of one of the most active small clubs in Westchester -- the Westchester Model Club, Inc. This club has for its aim the making of models of railroads, ships and airplanes, and a club with a busier membership would be hard to find anywhere. The organization’s headquarters are at 555 Main Street, New Rochelle, where the club has an entire floor of some 1,500 square feet for meeting rooms and a workshop. Here at present members are setting up a complete model railroad. When this is completed, it will be about seventy feet long. Several of the club members are well known in the model world. Fletcher Speed, twice winner of first prize at the New York Model Show annual exhibitions, is one of the members. Edwin P. Alexander, the club president, is also president of the American Model Railroad, Inc., one of the first 3 scale model railroad firms. Charles A. Penn, publisher of Model Craftsman Magazine, is another member. The Scarsdale member is young Sandford MacDowell of Carthage Road. Meetings are held every Tuesday evening at eight, and Saturday afternoons and evenings. Other nights such as Wednesday and Friday are “work nights” when construction on the club's railroad proceeds. Anyone interested in model making is invited to join the group. The secretary is James E. See of 1 Orchard Drive, White Plains." Source: Model Club Makes Miniature Railroad, Scarsdale Inquirer, Mar. 20, 1936, p. 3, cols. 4-5. "Model Railroad Exhibit in Pelham Tonight from 7:30 until ten p.m., and tomorrow and Sunday from two until ten p.m. mark the final showing of the miniature railroad speeding through scale model cities, farms, and mountains that covers the entire ground floor of the old New Haven Railroad station in Pelham Manor, which is drawing record crowds at its eighth annual exhibit. The rolling stock. shops, yards, terminals, and scenery have all been painstakingly built to scale by a group of fifty business and professional men who call themselves the Westchester Model Club, and who rented the station after it had been discontinued by the railroad in 1924 [sic]. The proceeds of this 1946 show which has been seen by more than 3,000 persons during the past two week-ends, will be donated to the Tribune Fresh Air Fund. Operating with time-table precision over 4,000 feet of track—twentyseven scale miles—it is believed to be the longest railroad of its type in the world." Source: Model Railroad Exhibit in Pelham, Scarsdale Inquirer, Nov. 15, 1936, p. 11, cols. 1-2. "N.Y. Railroad 'Fans' Visit Baldwin and P. R. R. Shops ----- One hundred and fifty members of the Westchester Model Club, Inc., of New Rochelle, N.Y., an unique organization made up of men from all walks of life who devote their leisure hours to the building and collecting of miniature railroad systems made an inspection tour of the Baldwin Locomotive Works at Eddystone, yesterday afternoon. The model-makers, some of whom are wealthy, others only moderately prosperous, went through the erecting shop from one end to the other and saw for themselves the plant where real locomotive builders assemble the parts of their 'iron horses.' They entered the shop at the west end and toured the plant in the same way that locomotives run through it, in the 'progressive system.' The New Yorkers were shown the steps in the assembling of an iron steed from its beginnings as a boiler until it was a finished product at the east end of the shop. The Baldwin management permitted the club members to take photographs inside the huge shop as they made the inspection. Many of the visitors retraced their steps to study some special phase of the assembling work in which they were interested. After spending more than an hour and a half at the plant, the party entrained for this city and had luncheon in a downtown restaurant before continuing on to Wilmington where a tour of the Pennsylvania Railroad shops was made. Among the officials of the Pennsylvania Railroad who accompanied the club on its tour, was W. M. Pippin, of this city, district passenger agent at Wilmington.' E. P. Alexander, president of the Westchester Model Club, was in charge of the arrangements for the trip." Source: N.Y. Railroad 'Fans' Visit Baldwin and P. R. R. Shops, Delaware County Daily Times [Chester, PA], Mar. 8, 1937, No. 18775, p. 1, cols. 4-5 (Note: Paid subscription required to access via this link). "Model Railroad Group To Open Exhibit At Station Tomorrow PELHAM -- The Westchester Model Club, which operates the Eastern Lines, one of the largest model railroad[s] in the country, will open its 1945 exhibit of model railroading at the New Haven Railroad Station in Pelham Manor tomorrow. It will continue on the second and third week-ends in November and is open Fridays from 7 to 10 P. M., and on Saturday 7 to 10 P. M. One of the features of the show to be presented several times is a demonstration of how a freight train is put on the road, from the assembling of the cars right through to the train orders that get it out on the main line. This railroad system is an operating model railroad with a greater diversity of equipment than any other model road, with more than 40 locomotives for every type of service. There is a 'ballast train' used on big roads to replace ballast under cross ties; an operating scale model wrecking train; a 'wire train' which operates on the electrified Mountain Division to keep the overhead trolley wire in repair. A prototype of this operates on the New Haven Railroad between Stamford and Woodlawn in the Bronx. There are many types of cars so that every type of freight can be handed, and there are enough of each class to make up 'solid' trains of all tank cars, all box cars, all refrigerator cars. The same is true for passenger equipment, and several sections of an all-Pullman de luxe train can be run in addition to regular trains on the timetable. The more than 3,500 feet of track include two large freight classification yards and two large passenger equipment yards. There is a nine-stall roundhouse to service locomotives." Source: Model Railroad Group To Open Exhibit At Station Tomorrow, The Daily Argus [Mount Vernon, NY], Nov. 1, 1945, p. 9, cols. 1-2. "Old Pelham Manor Station Houses World's Largest Model Railroad ----- Hobby Group Operates Line Worth $25,000 By ROBERT WILLIAMS One night each week, 42 out of a group of 43 men forget that in daily life they are bankers, accountants, morticians, firm presidents, etc., and become the operators of a scale model railroad system as near perfect in detail as human hands and ingenuity can make it. The exception is the only member of the Westchester Model Club, Inc., who lists railroading as his profession. He is John F. Munn, 299 East Third Street, an employee of the New York Central Railroad. These men, whose love of railroading made them turn to it as a hobby, have their headquarters in Pelham Manor in the abandoned New Haven station on the Harlem River Division, over which all through passenger traffic goes to Pennsylvania Station via the Hell Gate Bridge. World's Largest Model Railroad There, occupying a space 95 feet long by 25 feet wide is a model railroad said to be the largest in the world. Some 4,000 feet of track have been laid -- more than 27 scale miles -- while nearly 50,000 feet of wiring controls the trains, signals, interlocking relays, track relays, station lights and other devices. This equipment, plus all of the rolling stock, represents an investment of about $25,000. The system will be on public display the first three week ends of November: Nov. 1, 2, 3; 8, 9, 10; and 15, 16 and 17. Friday evenings the station will be open from 7:30 to 10:30 P. M., while on Saturdays and Sundays, the public will be admitted from 1:30 to 10:30 P. M. Club Organized in 1934 The club was organized in September, 1934, and moved to its present quarters in 1936 [sic]. The golden spike symbolizing the completion of the first main line loop was driven on June 23, 1938, by H. E. Baily, Superintendent of the New Haven Railroad, now retired. Among the charter members of the club still active are James E. See, I Orchard Drive, White Plains, a city highway engineer; Robert D. ward, 18 Clover Street, Larchmont, an engineer at Ward Leonard Electric Co.; Rollin S. Myers, 24 Lexington Avenue, plumbers' supplies; T. S. MacDowell, 27 Elizabeth Street, Dansville, N. Y., a boiler maker, and W. E. Shropshire, 101 Belle Vista Avenue, Tuckahoe, a designer at Ward Leonard, formerly a commercial artist. The Eastern Lines The club members, whose professions are as varied as the types of model trains they build, operate a system known as the Eastern Lines, made up of a main line and an electrified mountain line. For those few hours of fun and relaxation which their hobby affords them each Thursday night, the model railroaders forget such places as Mount Vernon, Pelham and Bronxville, and run their trains between Central City, Woodstock, Black Rock, Silver Creek, Pineville, Jonesburg and Oil City. The trains follow a timetable as rigidly as do their prototypes, and the entire system is operated under a book of rules as strict as that of any bona fide line.
In fact, the Westchester Club is the only one which boasts a printed book of rules, based on that of the New Haven Railroad, and revised for model purposes. The trains cannot be touched by hand when the system is operating except for coupling and uncoupling, and for manipulating the locomotives' forward and reverse shift levers. Such talk, over the loudspeaker, as 'First number 29 ready on track 8,' is routine. The yardmaster at Central City is the voice behind that one, and the signalman at Tower TW calls to the Roundhouse foreman for an 'Engine for first 29.' He is busy lining up switches and setting the signal for the heavy passenger locomotive that will pull the first section of the Eastern Lines' crack all-Pullman night train, The Owl. Seldom a Wreck An idea of the number of scale model trains owned by the club is gained from the fact that the timetable schedules 28 passenger trains and as many 'extras' as possible. So detailed and automatic is the signal system governing the movements of all trains that wrecks are infrequent. There are 55 locomotives of all types, new and old, available on the engine roster. In almost every instance they were built from scaled-down plans for the actual engine. It takes from 100 to 500 hours to build a locomotive. Fully detailed passenger cars take much less time and a freight car can be constructed in 12 to 15 hours. The club has a well-equipped machine shop where almost any kind of light work can be done. Usually, the only parts purchased are the motors and driving gears -- the rest being made from raw metal stock. Aside from the locomotives, the club members own some 200 passenger cars of all types -- Pullmans, diners, coaches, baggage, mail, express and express refrigerator. There are more than 350 freight cars, including at least one of every type seen on the big roads. In addition, there are 'non-revenue' cars such as work and wrecking cars, wrecking cranes, and a wire train to keep the overhead trolley on the electrified mountain line in repair. (The main line is third-rail-operated.) A Realistic Line Along the right of way are numerous construction details and structures which add realism to the line, while the scenic backgrounds are done to exact scale. To operate the system efficiently a regular 'crew' of 20 men is required, including towermen, yardmen, engineers, conductors, roundhouse men and station masters. In addition, there are a train-master, dispatcher, and a maintenance man. The members have a seniority system, just as the regular lines do, and receive demerits for various 'offenses.' Many of these result in demotion, and other members can then 'bid' for the open position. Included in the system are two large freight classification yards and two large passenger equipment yards, and there is a nine-stall roundhouse to service locomotives. The transfer table which enables locomotives and trains to enter the repair shop is said to be the only one in the country. Including the Westchester Club there are 173 known clubs, numbering 10,000 members, whose equipment is valued at $1,000,000, in the National Model Railroad Association. Grocer Is President Russell H. Lockwood, a wholesale grocer of 4354 Richardson Avenue, North Bronx, is president of the local club; Mr. Shropshire is superintendent. Typical of the zeal with which the members apply themselves to their hobby is that shown by Manfred Lausch, forty, vice-president and secretary, of 1470 Midland Avenue, Bronxville. Lausch, a bank employee at the Empire Trust Company, New York City, was one of the eight members who saw service during the war. As a boy, in Berlin, he had hoped to follow in his dad's footsteps as the manager of a locomotive plant. His grandfather was the engineer of an express train in Germany -- railroading ran in the family. But illness, brought about by malnutrition and privation after the first World War, forced Lausch to take up banking five years before he came to America 20 years ago. 1,702 Rivets -- By Hand! He joined the club in 1937 and his first model was a Texas and Pacific line locomotive known, because of its wheel arrangement, as a 'two-ten-four.' That model took him three years to build because he put in 1,702 scale rivets by hand, scorning the machine which stamps a boiler to make it appear riveted. For Lausch, that locomotive was truly a 'labor of love.' In the Army, Lausch, who is a dispatcher on the system, served two years as a corporal in an Ordinance Research and Developing Center. Although this same type of keen interest in the hobby has resulted in a system which should delight even the most ardent model railroad fan, the members say they will not rest on their laurels. New tracks and lines are planned for the future to handle the constantly increasing supply of rolling stock and, as George D. Barclay, 141 East Lincoln Avenue, Mount Vernon, declared in commenting on the 50,000 feet of electrical wiring he put down: 'There's lots more to go, still.' Members From City And Vicinity Activity In Model Railroad Club From Mount Vernon: John H. Adams, 45 Park Avenue; George D. Barclay, 141 East Lincoln Avenue; Adelbert Barrus, 410 Hancock Avenue; Whitney Elliot, 353 South Second Avenue; Robert W. Foster, 154 West Lincoln Avenue; William Johnston, 284 South Columbus Avenue; Jerome Lynch, 10 North Fulton Avenue; John F. Munn, 299 East Third Street; Rollin S. Myers, 24 Lexington Avenue; Ellis Rietzel, 54 South Second Avenue; Basil A. H. Slade, 23 East Prospect Avenue; Arthur Q. Smith, 10 North Fulton Avenue, and Emil Smith, 30 Melrose Avenue. From Bronxville: William H. Hubbard, 38 Elm Rock Road; from Crestwood, Fred R. Nagel, 178 Westchester Avenue; from Tuckahoe, W. E. Shropshire, 101 Belle Vista Avenue. From the Pelhams: Dean W. Chute, 143 Fourth Avenue, North Pelham, and Robert D. Hickok, 82 Monroe Street, Pelham Manor. From the North Bronx: Frank Chambers, 1803 Pitman Avenue; Charles W. Dill, 426 Minneford Avenue, City Island; Russell H. Lockwood, 4354 Richardson Avenue; Patrick Nardell, 1806 McGraw Avenue; Carl Netter, 1749 Grand Concourse; Louis Schmidt, 1470 Parkchester Road; Elbert Ward, 33 Schofield Street, City Island; and George Wiesner, 446 East 185th Street." Source: Williams, Robert, Old Pelham Manor Station Houses World's Largest Model Railroad -- Hobby Group Operates Line Worth $25,000, The Daily Argus [Mount Vernon, NY], Oct. 30, 1946, p. 6, cols. 1-8.
"Tiny Railroad To End Runs PELHAM MANOR -- The 'world's largest operating scale model railroad,' the Eastern Lines of the Westchester Model Club Inc., is preparing for its last run. The New Haven Railroad station building in which the exhibit is housed is expected to be condemned for the proposed New England Thruway. Final runs will be from 2 to 10 P.M. Saturdays and Sundays for three successive weekends beginning April 11 and ending April 26. The club hopes, however, to relocate to other quarters and continue the hobby. The club was formed in 1934 and it required 12 years to complete the layout, which includes 3,500 feet of track, 50,000 feet of wire, 65 locomotives, 500 freight cars and 150 passenger cars, all built to scale. Most of the equipment was built in the club's machine shop. About 20 men are required to operate the system." Source: Tiny Railroad To End Runs, Bronxville Review Press and Reporter [Bronxville, NY], Apr. 9, 1953, p. 2, col. 3.
Today's posting to the Historic Pelham Blog transcribes a brief article published in 1953 about the closing of the Club's facility in the Pelham Manor Depot prior to the station's demolition to make way for I-95. The transcription is followed by a citation to its source.
"Putting Out A Big Line
At first it looked as if a big railroad were going out of business. The story led off with the stark fact that the Eastern Railroad and its 65 locomotives, 500 freight and 150 passenger cars had been ordered to liquidate. The railway had to get out of the way of a new highway.
But it turned out, the Eastern Railroad presidents' conference reports that the E'astern Railroad' was only a model railroad -- though an extraordinary one. It was being evicted from its quarters in the old unused station in Pelham Manor.
The station, it seems, was standing smack in the middle of the proposed New England Thruway.
The 'Eastern Railroad' owns 3,500 feet of track and 12 stations and had been housed in the Pelham Manor station since 1936. Equipment is scaled at one-fourth inch to the foot."
Source: Putting Out a Big Line, The Cayuga Chief [Weedsport, NY], Jun. 4, 1953, p. 3, col. 1.
During the 1920s, six men in New Rochelle whose spouses objected to their model train sets taking up too much space formed the Westchester Model Club.They pooled their equipment in one of their member's attics, but soon ran out of space. They moved to a loft but, once again, ran out of space. In 1934, a tremendous opportunity presented itself. With the end of passenger service on the New Haven Branch Line that passed through Pelham Manor, the beautiful Pelham Manor Depot designed by noted architect Cass Gilbert sat unused. The Club leased the space. It designed and built one of the nation's largest and most famous model railroads centered around a miniature Pelham Manor Depot station identical to the structure within which the Club was housed. The Club remained in the station house until shortly before the structure was torn down to make way for I-95 during the 1950s.
Many articles appeared in print publications throughout the nation as the club became more famous. Significantly, a film of the model railroad was created. The film seems to have been created in the early 1950s. Sterling Films released thea film entitled "Model Railroad", an S. J. Turell Production written by Norman Ober and narrated by Carl King. The film was directed by Emil E. Brodbeck with the cooperation of the Westchester Model Club, Inc., Pelham Manor, New York. The movie is available as part of the Prelinger Archives founded in 1983 by Rick Prelinger. In 2002, the Library of Congress, Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division acquired the 60,000 films that then existed in the archive. Various of the archive films including the film "Model Railroad" are offered by Rick Prelinger and The Internet Archive to all for free downloading and reuse and for the creation of derivative works.
The image below, from the film, shows the model of the Pelham Manor Depot.
The film may be accessed immediately below by clicking on image to begin the film in MPEG4 format. Please wait a moment for the file to load before it begins.
Location: Mooresville, North Carolina, United States
Blake Bell was Town Historian of Pelham, NY (2005 through 2020) after serving as Deputy Town Historian. He served 3 years as Town Clerk and 8 years on Town Council. He was a member of the Boards of the Westchester County Historical Society (including Executive Committee) & Society of the National Shrine of the Bill of Rights at Saint Paul’s Church National Historic Site (including as Chair), the Pelham Preservation & Garden Society and was publisher of the award-winning HistoricPelham.com Web site (now archived). He wrote 3 books on Pelham history: The Haunted History of Pelham, New York (SUNY Press Excelsior Editions, 2022); Thomas Pell and the Legend of the Pell Treaty Oak (iUniverse 2004); and Town of Pelham’s 350th Anniversary Celebration: Historian Blake Bell’s Articles Published in The Pelham Weekly (2006). He is author of about 80 Pelham history articles published in journals, magazines & newspapers and is a frequent speaker on Pelham history. He retired at the end of 2020 after 30 years with 1,000-lawyer Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP in New York City. He began his career with Cravath, Swaine & Moore in New York City in 1983.
