Haha, small world, BLUELINE 4 & TINPLATE ART, BTHS was very instrumental in our lives, when I grasped the concept of what I was supposed to be doing there it open up my brain capacity to infinite size, my only regret is that I wish I could of started off immediately so to say on the right track. I graduated Class of 72’. Tinplate, after art school I also joined the Army as an administrator (75Z40), retired from there and recently retired as a computer network technician at Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan. Now as a Model Railroader, I enjoy the small challenges and I have renewed my skills learned in Tech, art school and the military while building this layout. After 40 years as a G.I and a GEEK, model railroading is my next choice profession. I’m enjoying it more everyday in Brooklyn, New York. - MARSHELANGELO
Seems wherever you go. chances are you will meet someone who is from Brooklyn. I grew up in Williamsburg, went to St Francis Prep and Manhattan college. Retired from a 42 year career in the electric Utility business. Last position was for Con Ed at 30 Flatbush Avenue as director engineering for the Brooklyn/queens region.
One of the things we got off the ground back then was an intern program for Brooklyn Tech students. Back in 2000 we had 8 students for the summer, and most stayed for after school assignments . The company still has that program and it has expanded. Its part of the special relationship that Con Ed and Brooklyn Tech have enjoyed over the years.
Today I run trains on Long Island and in North Carolina. ,
LIRR Steamer posted:Seems wherever you go. chances are you will meet someone who is from Brooklyn. I grew up in Williamsburg, went to St Francis Prep and Manhattan college. Retired from a 42 year career in the electric Utility business. Last position was for Con Ed at 30 Flatbush Avenue as director engineering for the Brooklyn/queens region.
One of the things we got off the ground back then was an intern program for Brooklyn Tech students. Back in 2000 we had 8 students for the summer, and most stayed for after school assignments . The company still has that program and it has expanded. Its part of the special relationship that Con Ed and Brooklyn Tech have enjoyed over the years.
Today I run trains on Long Island and in North Carolina. ,
SFP? What year did you graduate? I was the class of '73
Chris Lord posted:LIRR Steamer posted:Seems wherever you go. chances are you will meet someone who is from Brooklyn. I grew up in Williamsburg, went to St Francis Prep and Manhattan college. Retired from a 42 year career in the electric Utility business. Last position was for Con Ed at 30 Flatbush Avenue as director engineering for the Brooklyn/queens region.
One of the things we got off the ground back then was an intern program for Brooklyn Tech students. Back in 2000 we had 8 students for the summer, and most stayed for after school assignments . The company still has that program and it has expanded. Its part of the special relationship that Con Ed and Brooklyn Tech have enjoyed over the years.
Today I run trains on Long Island and in North Carolina. ,
SFP? What year did you graduate? I was the class of '73
Chris I was a bit before you. Class of 1960. North 6th street back then. Say hello to Ben for me.
I was born in Brooklyn grew up in Bensonhurst, graduated from C.C.N.Y. in Manhattan and finally moved to NJ after graduation in 1975. It was a different place back then and it seemed everyone had trains there but as soon as we reached about age 15 no one had interest anymore. Finally got back into the hobby in 1978 at age 28 and was re-introduced to it by my late wife's co-worker boyfriend. Those were exciting times buying up all the things at the many trains shows that we once wish we had as kids. The hobby continues here today and my dream of having a large custom 28' x 14' layout has been fulfilled. There is not much left to buy or to do but a layout always seems to need some small modifications and additions. After all those years and now a senior, I'm still very much in the hobby.
I’ve lived in NE Pennsylvania for the last 25 years, but I was born and raised in Brooklyn. My first set of trains (a Lionel Super O set) came from a “toy store” called Thrift Town on Nostrand Avenue off Ave. L, across from Bohacks (both long gone). Was in the last, accelerated class to graduate from Brooklyn PREP in ‘72. Didn’t really get any more trains after that first set until I started buy MPC and Fundimensions trains while in college. It’s been a long downward trip on the slippery slope since then. Spent a number of years living a few blocks from Trainworld when it opened on Avenue M. As the old song goes, “those were the days my friend”!!!
LIRR Steamer posted:Chris Lord posted:LIRR Steamer posted:Seems wherever you go. chances are you will meet someone who is from Brooklyn. I grew up in Williamsburg, went to St Francis Prep and Manhattan college. Retired from a 42 year career in the electric Utility business. Last position was for Con Ed at 30 Flatbush Avenue as director engineering for the Brooklyn/queens region.
One of the things we got off the ground back then was an intern program for Brooklyn Tech students. Back in 2000 we had 8 students for the summer, and most stayed for after school assignments . The company still has that program and it has expanded. Its part of the special relationship that Con Ed and Brooklyn Tech have enjoyed over the years.
Today I run trains on Long Island and in North Carolina. ,
SFP? What year did you graduate? I was the class of '73
Chris I was a bit before you. Class of 1960. North 6th street back then. Say hello to Ben for me.
Class of 1975, myself. Grew up in Astoria and took the GG to Metropolitan, then one stop on the L to Bedford Avenue until the move to Fresh Meadows in senior year. Totally changed the commute; glad I could drive soon into my senior year!
Mark
LIRR Steamer posted:Chris Lord posted:LIRR Steamer posted:Seems wherever you go. chances are you will meet someone who is from Brooklyn. I grew up in Williamsburg, went to St Francis Prep and Manhattan college. Retired from a 42 year career in the electric Utility business. Last position was for Con Ed at 30 Flatbush Avenue as director engineering for the Brooklyn/queens region.
One of the things we got off the ground back then was an intern program for Brooklyn Tech students. Back in 2000 we had 8 students for the summer, and most stayed for after school assignments . The company still has that program and it has expanded. Its part of the special relationship that Con Ed and Brooklyn Tech have enjoyed over the years.
Today I run trains on Long Island and in North Carolina. ,
SFP? What year did you graduate? I was the class of '73
Chris I was a bit before you. Class of 1960. North 6th street back then. Say hello to Ben for me.
I was North 6th also. My brother graduated in '74 which was the last class in Brooklyn. I'll tell Ben hello.
LIRR STEAMER: I also graduated in January 1960 from Brooklyn Tech as a Chem major. We must have had some of the same teachers? My name is Arthur Poole. Did you by any chance know Tracy Diers, the station engineer, at the radio station WNYE on the 10th Floor?
Hi
Tinplate Art posted:LIRR STEAMER: I also graduated in January 1960 from Brooklyn Tech as a Chem major. We must have had some of the same teachers? My name is Arthur Poole. Did you by any chance know Tracy Diers, the station engineer, at the radio station WNYE on the 10th Floor?
Hi Art
Hope I didn't mislead you. I am a graduate of St Francis Prep class of 1960. I did know a few techies from that era, ie Sal Vetere and R W Donohue. . Don't know if you knew these folks.
Unfortunately I never got to meet or hear anyone speak on the radio station, I guess it’s due to the timing of my arrival in 1968 but I saw it in operation once or twice; it was a very small room and hardly ever open. However I’m willing to bet one of y’all had classes in the foundry, the printing room where we made our own graduation programs or one of the machine shops.
I also grew up in Brooklyn, 12th av /39th st ... went to St Catherine’s grammer school and then to Brooklyn Tech from 1961 - 1965. Took the Chem course... Moved to NJ in 1992 ...
Hi`, Jim D, small world, ain`t it, lol,, iWent to PS 4, then Rothschild JR. High, then Fort Hamilton high school, i met my first wife in NJ, married and moved to NJ` until i retitred in 2016, then we moved to Florida summer 2016, happy Holiday`s to everyone, Phil
Hi Greg, We must have crossed paths in the halls or lunch room. I graduated in 1970. With 6000 students You could not not know everyone. I loved the foundry and machine shop. Great School.
Jim D.
Born in Brooklyn, but when the Dodgers left, my parents moved to Queens in a huff 
. Wound up a Yankees fan.
As a science fiction fan, I recognize Andrew Porter as fandom royalty, now that I read his biography. If you don't drive, I'd use Uber or Lyft to visit the NJ Hirailers. Worth every cent I'd suggest.
JIM D, I got into Tech when you was a sophomore so I'm willing to bet that we crossed paths. I didn't know what the heck I was doing in the Foundry but I was totally amazed at the size of the room and what we were doing there. I still have my nameplate somewhere here in the house and I loved the **** out of the machine shops. Thinking of the engine lathe still brings a smile to my face. When you think of the things we did, learned and applied when you left Tech, I discovered that we were a step above the rest. I always wonder what I would be able to do there if I had a second chance. Fantastic school.
I'm not an alumnus of Brooklyn Tech, but my father was - in 1933 or '34. Listening to the discussion, I had to chime in. I'm not sure of the specific curriculum my father took there, but he was a master tool & die maker and foreman until he retired in 1985. He also repaired motor vehicles as a Technical Sergeant in the U.S. Army in Europe during WW II. My grandparents always were proud of him for having graduated from Brooklyn Tech, but it was not my father's way to talk about himself. I have great respect for the school.
MELGAR
Finally got a few free moments to add to this list of distinguished graduates. I graduated from Brooklyn Tech in the bicentennial year of 1976. I grew up in Flatlands in the late 50’s till 1980. I majored in Electrical Engineering there. Yes I also remember the foundry and making my nameplate. The machine shop using the lathe and milling machine and grinding our own cutting bit, which was used to make a hammer. Also woodworking and making the oversized cloths pin. If I remember correctly across the street there was a casket manufacturer. This was a great education which was followed by attending Polytechnic Institute of NY, a great Brooklyn commuter school. Growing up in Brooklyn as a kid in that time certainly had a different meaning to living on the streets.
GREG: I well remember the foundry and the electric furnace. Also those cope and drag sand molds. I made a two-handle tap wrench in machine shop with belt and pulley lathes. Never could put an edge on my tool bit so I cheated and had a friend make one for me. Made a step-V block in pattern making.
As the con Ed Brooklyn tech intern program got rolling, we managed to obtain corporate support for facilities arT Tech. There is a state of the art environmental lab and many new computers for students. Thought about how Tech has changed with times issues and technology after reading about fellow forumites recollections of their Tech experience. Today’s students are driven just like you were. They are very talented and you need to be proud of that continuing heritage at Tech. I am equally amazed at how my alma mater St Francis Prep has maintained its high educational standards. It is well known nationally, larger than it was when on North 6th street but still very personal and attentive to students needs. Brooklyn is just the best.
Hey Rich, the casket manufacturer is long gone, I believe the building is of all things a daycare center (wonder if the children there have witnessed the supernatural in there ) and the building is across the street from the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM). The school has changed with the times, I was able to sneak around there when my daughter had her graduation ceremony there and saw the new computer labs, and the CISCO training rooms, I did note however that the chairs that we use to sit in during algebra, trigonometry and calculus are still there, no worse for the wear. I thought about going to PolyTech but at the time I just needed to let my brains cool off a bit, I had to put them into turbodrive to graduate on time, so I went to NYC Community College across the street and did Art & Advertising. It's fascinating how much the school has enriched and benefitted our lives and yet when it's time to relax and go in a different direction for a change we all wound up going back to model railroading. Model Railroading is unique in its own way !!
Hey Greg, You must have been following me. LOL. I too went to NYC Community College on Jay St. I was in the Fire Science Program. I hook up with a bunch of Fireman. I became a NYC Firemen in 1973. I did 32 happy years in the FDNY. It stopped being fun so I retired.
Jim D.
Greg that’s right now as I retrace my steps in my head from the Atlantic Ave station I would walk past BAM on the left and the casket company was on the right on my way to BTHS. Yes model railroading had been the early start of my electrical engineering career. As a kid I always enjoyed the wiring of a layout, setting up blocks, incorporating timers and of course taking apart and repairing trains. Even as a Eagle Scout for my Electrical Merit badge one of the things I remember doing was I built a motor out of nails and wire. I certainly cant complain I have always had trains in my life since my 1st Christmas in some fashion such as layouts in my Brooklyn basement, trains on display and floor layouts in my Long Island basement, trains on display in Florida and lastly 2 toy train layouts and on display in my North Carolina home. As they say “Life is Good”
Great comments here, and I'm really glad you graduates of Brooklyn Tech, St. Francis, etc. are re-establishing contact.
But, what I would really like is to be able to meet other railfans, esp. O Gauge fans, here in Brooklyn, or NYC. Any hope of that? The one person I e-mailed directly never replied.
Meanwhile, I bought 2 more streamlined steam locos, at the Greenberg Show in Edison, NJ, on Nov. 30th. One, I had to involve the management of the show to get the guy to send me the train, 3 weeks later. Not a happy experience. I've since read Yelp reviews of the company and several were savage in their comments.
Great topic, and another example of a small world'... I went to PS 196, and lived on Scoal Street in the Williamsburg projects with my Grandparents, in 1962. It was the only time I received all A's in every subject. At 3PM when school got out we all went to the shelter located in the basement of the project. WE played, ping pong, cards, dominoes, checkers, and basket ball outside in the court yard if you wanted to. Across the street from PS-196 was a corner store, where a ham & cheese grinder, and a Nedics, cost .35 Cents. That's where we all went for lunch. No cafeteria in 196 in those days. I was in the 5th grade and just before the end of the school year I went back to Long Island with my folks. I missed being in Brooklyn and my Grand Parents and PS-196.......... It was a great experience for me and I learned a lot. I often think back to those days in Brooklyn'...
Anybody from St. John's Prep, Bed-Sty section of Brooklyn ?
Although I have never lived in Brooklyn, I think this thread is great. My family lived in Astoria, Queens but my father worked on 39th Street in Brooklyn and had graduated from Brooklyn Tech. There were many trips to Brooklyn Dodgers baseball games at Ebbets Field (where I once met Walter O'Malley) amidst the Mack trolley buses as well as visits to cousins. Plenty of Brooklyn subways and elevated lines that could be modeled and also the early LIRR along Atlantic Avenue.
MELGAR
Hi`, Arthur, i grew up on Adelphi St., just off Flushing Ave., went to PS 46, Rothschild Jr. High then Ft. Hamilton High, Phil
On many an afternoon, some of us Queens-bound students would leave Tech and hike through Ft. Greene Park to the Navy Street station of the Myrtle Ave El. We then rode those wonderful open platform cars with the folding gates to the junction with the Broadway/Jamaica El for our ride to Queens.
Love trains posted:Hi`, Arthur, i grew up on Adelphi St., just off Flushing Ave., went to PS 46, Rothschild Jr. High then Ft. Hamilton High, Phil
Phil, I lived in Queens (Kew Gardens) but would take the EL J train to Myrtle-Broadway to get to school (St. John's Prep 1962-1966). Rough neighborhood back then & still is today.
Art
Hi Arthur, yeah pretty tough back then and even Worse now,glad we`re in Florida now, in Lakeland, just outside of Tampa, `bye for now and Happy Holidays, Phil
Myrtle/Broadway- Bushwick section of Brooklyn, home to me. Grew up on Troutman between Wilson & Knickerbocker. Went to St. Joes. We didn't think it was a tough neighborhood back then, it was our neighborhood. As far as Bklyn Tech goes, took the test and although I passed, I decided to go into Aviation so off to Queens Blvd and 36th St, #7 Line Rawson Street. My family told me back then you don't want to work for the railroads, they're all going bankrupt, so I went into the airlines, go figure. . . LOL!!
I also went to Aviation High School. Got to see the GG-1's operating in the Sunnyside yard from the # 7 train.
I went to Polytechnic Institute of NY Brooklyn - Jay street from 1980 to 1982, Masters in engineering. Taught also as a graduate student Microbiology and Sanitary Lab as well as NYS water and wastewater license requirements. Great school. Brother got BS in EE there. Father got BS in Engineering there as well. I started at Long island location on Rt 110 then to Brooklyn to finish courses.
@Arthur posted:Anybody from St. John's Prep, Bed-Sty section of Brooklyn ?
Nope; Brooklyn Prep ‘69, Crown Heights, and we routinely kicked your asses in football on Thanksgiving Day! Just kidding!
I’m going to Trainstock, alone😢, on 1/15, and have an otherwise empty car. I can take up to 3 Bklyn/Queens/SI riders, if any are interested. I will meet any riders in the old Toys-R-Us parking lot, on Flatbush Avenue, just North of the Belt Parkway, on the east side of Flatbush. If you’re on SI, then a pickup point very close to SI Expressway, along the service road. Email in profile.
This is a terrific discussion: I checked the NJ Highrailers site and wow! Whatta fantastic display. Question: is Brooklyn considered part of the "Big Apple"? I'm guessing "yes"...?
Mark (now) in Oregon, but born in Connecticut. 🎄
Yes Brooklyn is part of the big Apple. Reading through this thread makes me chuckle a little bit. Bush wick isn’t a tough neighborhood anymore it’s the hipster capital of the world. I went to Brooklyn Tech reunion in fort Greene and the neighborhood had regular people displace all the drug dealers in the park. They have outdoor cafes and hipsters all over the place. Brooklyn has changed a lot. Take mark up in the ride you will have a good time
@Strummer posted:This is a terrific discussion: I checked the NJ Highrailers site and wow! Whatta fantastic display. Question: is Brooklyn considered part of the "Big Apple"? I'm guessing "yes"...?
Mark (now) in Oregon, but born in Connecticut. 🎄
Manhattan, Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island = "Big Apple".
@Arthur posted:Manhattan, Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island = "Big Apple".
Even though Staten Island really should ceded to NJ😜😜😜😜
@Arthur posted:Manhattan, Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island = "Big Apple".
Thanks.
I've long thought that Long Island could have just as easily been part of Connecticut... 😁
Mark (now) in Oregon 🎄
