Upstate Model Railroaders (UMRR) S Gauge Club Update - June 27, 2021
Our Upstate Model Railroaders Club (upstatemodelrailroaders.com) at 22 Hudson Falls Road in South Glens Falls, New York, held its first Open House in 2021 today. We will be having several additional events this summer and fall. We invite you, and especially those with children, to see and run trains. We are located just north of beautiful and historic Saratoga Springs, about one hour north of Albany (State Capital), and three hours north of NYC. Please refer to our Facebook page (Upstate Model Railroaders) for more information.
The S Gauge Club, also known as American Flyer, is working on a new layout inspired by the Empire Track Plan that was part of the NYC Gilbert Hall of Science in the 1940’s and 1950’s, and several years ago was recreated by Clay and Charlie Buckage.
The original artist plan is shown below.
The Buckage layout courtesy of the family and Marvin Theil (photos) link is:
http://americanflyerdisplays.org/.../Railroad.../index.html
Dale Smith (extremely helpful resource) website is a good reference for more information on the A.C Gilbert Empire Layout, among others. http://americanflyerdisplays.org/ghos/1stfloor_2.htm
The first phase of our layout which is 8’ x 24’ (lower level) is now operational running two trains, and the upper level will be finished in late July. We plan to have this project substantially completed, including base scenery, before the fall.
Some pictures from our event today are posted below.
We are running club owned operating locomotives, both steam and diesels with freight and passenger cars. We will also run certain equipment of guests. We are using both traditional transformer controls and newer “FlyerChief” wireless remote control, both protected with fast acting Dallee electronic circuit breakers. Soon, we anticipate running several newer engines equipped with Bluetooth by handheld phones.
This layout is slightly larger than the original with two connected levels, which when completed will easily operate three trains and several operating accessories at the same time. The club also operates extensive other layouts including O, HO, and N Gauge, and later this summer G.
In the US and Canada, it is estimated there are more than 500,000 collectors and train enthusiasts including (to name a few celebrities) Rod Stewart, Neil Young and Michael Gross. So were Frank Sinatra and Walt Disney.
We hope you will visit us soon. We welcome new members. No prior experience is necessary to join and enjoy this wonderful and fun hobby.
