As the current President of LITCA (Long Island Train Collecting Aficionados) I set a goal to get all of the Long Island train clubs together.  We are well on our way towards meeting this goal.

A couple years ago we established a great relationship with RMLI (Railroad Museum of Long Island).

And now, this past summer, another Long Island train club, COL (Central Operating Lines), invited us to a special visit to their clubhouse and layout in Bohemia, NY. Boy, we were impressed. Not just because of the layout but also because they made us feel so welcome – the coffee and donuts they provided in one of their club rooms was most appreciated too - YUM!

If you’re interested in trains, model railroading, or just want to experience something unique, visiting the Central Operating Lines train club could be a great idea! They hold open houses for the public several times a year and, if you are looking to get into the hobby, or expand on what you may already have, be sure to attend their frequent swap meets.

A schedule of these events can be found on their website: Central Operating Lines LTD

Before I share the pictures of the Central Operating Lines layout that I took during our visit, I thought that you’d like to read about their club’s history and scenery. A bit about operation follows the pictures.

HISTORY

Central Operating Lines, Ltd. is the oldest not-for-profit "O" Scale model railroad club on Long Island.  They began operating in 1976, in Holtsville, NY. Due to lease issues, the club has had to move several times since then: Holtsville, Holbrook, Babylon. Ronkonkoma and now, in Bohemia.

Many people remember their Ronkonkoma layout as they were there for 18 years!

Unfortunately, in 2012, they were again forced to move but, fortunately, they found a great space for a new layout and club house in the Long Island, NY town of Bohemia.

The new home is a 40' x40' facility. In addition to plenty space for a new layout it also includes two club rooms.

Membership then met to discuss what they wanted in a club layout. After several weeks, they agreed that the new layout would encompass:

          1. Long runs for long consists

                    2. Easy access to retrieve "derailed" trains

                    3. Easy on/off loading of trains upon layout

                    4. Several sidings for staging of trains

                    5. Storage for membership trains under the layout

                    6. Ability to use Lionel Legacy and DCS command controls

                    7. Need to show "local", New York attractions

                    8. Conversion to LED lighting

                    9. Wide aisles for ease of membership and visitors to view layout

                  10.  Ability to change and adapt layout for the future

They came up with an inverted "G" design that has four different main scenic sections.  Membership also decided on having four main lines of equal length.  Since track length and train access were the cornerstone of the membership wish list, sidings would have to be limited. The main lines have a total of seven sidings.

While discussions the design features was still going on, other members were constructing 4'x8' tables (48 of them!), to piece together and form the base of the layout.  They opted for a solid table versus the traditional open design for strength and rigidity.  It also allowed them to run the wiring underneath the layout wherever they needed to without regard interference from mountains, cities, roads and the like.

The approved track design was "drawn" upon the table and roadbed was placed over the design.  Gargraves track was then added.   While this was being done, other members began to centrally locate the transformers.  These members then added "spider" wiring for each line.

All this was completed within a two month time frame.  This means members deconstructed, moved what they could salvage (buildings/trees/lights and such), designed, built, wired and had trains up and running (conventionally) in TWO MONTHS!  What an amazing accomplishment!

SCENERY

Each section of the layout has a different scene to review.  This was discussed by the membership during the design stage, and modified, during the construction stage.

The plan was to represent scenes many know who live and work on Long Island.

The first visible section has a typical "country/suburb" scene.  Complete with a church, farm, access to train station and overlook of the saved gorge from the Ronkonkoma layout.  This flows right into the airport!  Yes, they have a scene to depict an airport on Long Island.  Airports were made famous on Long Island during and just after WW II.

Next is their mountain scene, a 34' long mountain!  OK, we do not have mountains on Long Island, but it does look good!  It hides 4 lines inside. Atop the mountain one will find an On-30 logging train.  This train also goes into the mountain and one end, and goes by a village, logging mill, and coal tower at the other end.

This led us to the back wall scene, a 12' by 36' display of track, sidings, industry and a view representing Brooklyn and Queens NY.  Complete with a McDonald's, Brooklyn Savings Bank, businesses and apartment buildings.  Roadways are found on both the upper and lower levels, connecting them in a very unique way. They even have a uniquely designed overpass usually found in Florida!  Finally, in this section, many will see an iconic Drive-In Movie Theatre that was all the rage for many who live on Long Island.

The Navy Yard is incredible!  It has several buildings and a dry dock that houses a ship for each Open House.  We also modified this section to include a point to point On-30 freight railroad.  It brings material to and from the yard and dry dock area! You will also see here the Statue of Liberty and a tribute to the men and women who were victims in the 9/11 tragedy.

We come now to the final section, it is a representation of New York City.  It is complete with the Flat Iron building, a Pan-Am building is under construction, a COL style Grand Central Station is also under construction and many other unique city type buildings.  They also have two elevated lines connecting the front city to the city along the back wall.  Under our version of Grand Central Station, we also have two subway lines complete with its own train stop.

Also included something no other LI club has, an amazing light show in the form of a THUNDERSTORM!  It is complete with sound and visual cues that make it appear you are truly in a storm.  One of the buildings, on the rear wall, also appears to "burn" after it is struck by a lightning bolt!

SEARCH THE FOLLOWING PICTURES FOR THE SCENES MENTIONED ABOVE.

After the pictures, you can read about the operation of this fantastic layout.

OPERATION

The club has the ability to run multiple trains on a single line!  Not by using the traditional "block system" of yesteryear.  We use the electronic devises now available sch as MTH's DCS and Lionel Legacy control Systems.  They are able to run six (6) fully operational trains on one line at one time!  With the four main lines, they can have nearly 24 trains running at any one time.  Though, for obvious reasons, they limit this type of running during Open Houses.