O3R History (Bay Ridge Club)

[DaveJfr0]

I stopped by the Bay Ridge Model RR Club in Brooklyn a few months ago. This club dates back to 1949 in its current location, is still outside 3R, and the trains still run around it perfectly. Finding a Friday when they actually met was a challenge, but I did stop in for a few hours.

I am not currently posting anything of the layout itself, but I purposefully took some of old and interesting pieces they had sitting around the layout. I have no further information or photos on anything you see. I am pretty sure there is also a treasure trove of old and interesting pieces under the layout in various boxes too, but since I was a guest with limited time, etc I did not ask anything further than what was easy to see.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/RKkfLYhm5Mty9HMZ9

I may also have some information on companies/hobby shops that were around in a 1949 and 1952 from some of the club fliers that still exist that date back to then if interested.

[bob turner]

I visited in the early 1980s as a guest of Sam Snelling. Nice visit. Sam sold me a Lobaugh Pacific, which I still have.

[Carey Williams]

Hello Dave ...thank you very much for your kind posting of the "museum" layout of Brooklyn . The Brooklyn layout is on the bucket list .... I was in NYC in May .... but no one from the club was available that day .....so ran over to see the NYSME layout in NJ .

The Brooklyn folks have quite a collection of "vintage " ...love the trolley gathering spot .... engines on the floor ??? hum ... Thank you again for your posting .... lots of reasons to go and visit ...

Cheers Carey

[Carey Williams]

Dave ...and the rest of the O scale world ...check out Dave's blog page ..link on his posting ...take a tour of the big E show last weekend ...see the best Bascule bridge ever !!!!! built by Schellbach .... part of the New Haven Club ....who would have ever thought something so lovely was in New Haven ...

Dave looks like you go to York ... hope to meet you there ..Friday morning Orange Hall 9am ..there will a Delta Lines meeting .... I'll be bringing a few of Ellison's buildings to display ...please stop by ...the rest of the world is also welcome to attend

Cheers Carey

[J. S. Bach]

https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipN_dWaSU7ehWD8Y1JuIhvYUg_BHOX_fYObNbQiTuIBKHtvavTQYUInpzONUQ5-3FA/photo/AF1QipNjcXNEsOA2b-m6VG4OWBDe_KVkg2FDPzksvabL?key=ckxSalBJZXNPQV9lUnYyeG9kZnJZakdWYVdPTlV3

Here is a photo of that stainless steel South Shore car built by Vern Gilman sitting on his home layout next to my orange South Shore car:

100_1084.jpg (1.13 MiB) Viewed 8264 times

100_1082.jpg (972.37 KiB) Viewed 8264 times

I am glad to see that it still survives.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

...love the trolley gathering spot ....

Depressing to see them just parked in a cluster, not in use, not on track, not under wire, almost neglected and stacked out of the way....

[J. S. Bach]

Depressing to see them just parked in a cluster, not in use, not on track, not under wire, almost neglected and stacked out of the way....

How true!

[DaveJfr0]

Hello Dave ...thank you very much for your kind posting of the "museum" layout of Brooklyn . The Brooklyn layout is on the bucket list .... I was in NYC in May .... but no one from the club was available that day .....so ran over to see the NYSME layout in NJ .

The Brooklyn folks have quite a collection of "vintage " ...love the trolley gathering spot .... engines on the floor ??? hum ... Thank you again for your posting .... lots of reasons to go and visit ...

Cheers Carey

I wasn't trying to touch all of their gear for photographs so everything was as is, untouched by me. There is probably a ton more under the layout that I

I have more of the layout, but I want to see if I can get back down there when its cleaned up a little bit more before I post anything online. They always welcome visitors and of course are looking for members if you're in the area. The only hard part is they meet on Fridays and even then its rather spotty. It's definitely worth the patience and the visit for anyone that loves old pieces.

[DaveJfr0]

Dave ...and the rest of the O scale world ...check out Dave's blog page ..link on his posting ...take a tour of the big E show last weekend ...see the best Bascule bridge ever !!!!! built by Schellbach .... part of the New Haven Club ....who would have ever thought something so lovely was in New Haven ...

Dave looks like you go to York ... hope to meet you there ..Friday morning Orange Hall 9am ..there will a Delta Lines meeting .... I'll be bringing a few of Ellison's buildings to display ...please stop by ...the rest of the world is also welcome to attend

Cheers Carey

Mr. Schellbach spent so much time building that amazing bridge that the club kind of neglected the rest of the layout, IMHO. Most of the folks behind the layout didn't seem interested in talking, and the one guy about my age I tried to talk to didn't know anything and told me to talk to the other guys, lol. The switching layout in the Young hall was much more interesting to see overall, despite its small size.

The Stamford, CT club is a must see if you're in the area. I'll probably head back up there sometime this month or next. Ironically it takes me the same amount of time to get there via metro-north as it does the Bay Ridge club via the subway.

As for York, yes I've been going on and off for maybe 17 years. Thanks for the offer. Nowadays you'll be lucky if you find me at the fairgrounds before 11am on Fridays, since I can do/see everything in maybe 3 hours on Thursday. Fridays, my dad and I usually do a second walk-through in case we missed something and then I hang out at Rich Yoder's table or Scott Mann's table. We usually have a nice dinner with John Dunn and Rich Yoder after the show Friday.

[rogruth]

I am an O3R modeler but it's in the center .
A few comments if I may. OK, I'm going to make them.

Maybe because I am a 3R person I don't even notice it most of the time but I think it is because it is so well done.
There does seem to be a lot of clutter on the layout. Also almost every where.
Even so I find it to be fascinating and beautiful in its own way. So much stuff ! What variety !

I hope to see sometime in the future more photos and possibly a video of trains running on the layout.
I also would like to see videos of other club layouts. I recall some several years ago of a Denver club
layout before it was taken down. Maybe it is too much trouble but it would be nice to have a record
of the various club layouts.

[Chris Webster]

Mr. Schellbach spent so much time building that amazing bridge that the club kind of neglected the rest of the layout, IMHO.

The trestle bent legs supporting their modules are kind of interesting, as is having the curtain on the inside side of the layout.

Thanks for posting your photos of the show.

[Carey Williams]

Hello all

Ok seeing everything stacked up or on the floor is sad ... no doubt there were happier times in the past for the club .... hope the happy times return

New Haven group is homeless so that could account for coolness ????

They have been around since 1932 ....

https://www.nhsme.org/


that beautiful bridge has been getting it up since 1940 !!!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z90fUxqNHrE


Rogruth ... you don't notice the outside 3rd rail ? .... it is an acquired taste ... when scale models hit the scene in 1924 .. O scale had the center rail with various ways to hid the center rail ....about 1929 you see outside 3rd rail surface ....most all these boys were in the NYC area so outside 3rd rail was a common thing ( ok not on a steam engine ) ...so to distance themselves from the tinplate boys ..outside 3rd rail was all the range ... 1933 one of the big layout at the fair was 2 rail IC? but that was a flash in the pan for the O scale world ..

1935 /6 HO and OO were slugging it out ...and the push for 2 rail occurred.( when Donely Scalecraft introduced it's OO line in 37 ..all 2 rail) ... 1939 the NYC Worlds Fair layouts many were 2 rail ...as were several at the Treasure Island fair the same year ... 2 rail had won the war by the time the real war began .... many of the old established clubs with outside 3rd rail changed over to 2 rail over the following decades ... Brooklyn and the B&O are the two big hold outs .... the B&O layout just got a huge face lift but the outside 3rd rail remains ...

I enjoy working with the outside 3rd rail ....it's appearance captures an era ...

but I also have 2 rail ... from 1939 .. if I can find some period center 3rd rail from the 1920's ( not tinplate) ... I'd find a place for that also .. I try and respect the gender of the engine/ trains as they was conceived...

Cheers Carey

[rex desilets]

John Armstrong, he of sainted memory, ran outside 3rd rail for most, if not all, of the life of his railroad.

[rogruth]

I guess I should say that I don't care how many rails there are if the layout looks nice.
I could name several builders but don't think it is needed. You all know.

[bobcom52]

Thanks for posting those photos of the layout.
A pity all 3-rail was not done this way.
cheers
Bob