Stamford Model Railroad Club, Inc.
Gateway to New England for 75 years
Several trains are seen passing the Stamford Railroad Station, PRR "Metropolitan" and "Steel City" are to the left of a New Haven local train.
S
eventy five years ago three members of St. John’s Episcopal Church formed the Stam-
ford Model Railroad Club in the basement of the church in Stamford, Connecticut. The original layout consisted of 25 feet of track and a Lionel transformer with outside third rail. The club in- corporated and formally adopted The Atlantic Trunk Lines name which continues today. Growth of the layout began after World War II. The Rippowam Valley Light and Traction Lines were also established providing trolley and in- terurban service. Throughout the fifties, the club continued to grow and almost occupied the entire basement with more trackage and freight yards. Early in the sixties, the club began the conver- sion from outside third rail to two rail operation.
variety of vintages of equipment, steam, electric and diesel. OPERATION The railroad operates on direct current with a capacity of 25 volts and 15 amps per operating cab position. There are six separate main line cab positions and six trains can be run at the same time over the same track. The main line railroad tracks are divided into 25 sections where each section is controlled by a separate control switch. The length of the sections can be a minimum of 15 feet or up to 75 feet in length or greater. There is a separate dispatcher’s operating posi- tion which controls all of the layout railroad track switches and many of the tracks within the yards.
SOME POINTS OF INTEREST: Van Nest - Named for an area in the Bronx, NY where the New Haven Railroad had a major overhaul shop. All of these buildings in the town have interiors and lights and were either kit or scratch built. There are two stations serving this town along with the Diesel Engine Facility in the background. A large passenger car yard over- looks the town from the hilltop. Mianus Chemical - A chemical facility, which is serviced by the Atlantic Trunk lines, is located just before Stamford Railroad Station on the lay- out. All of the tanks and structures within this complex were scratch built and can handle sev- eral railroad tank cars. Diesel Locomotive Facility - The diesel loco- motive facility provides servicing for all of the diesel locomotives utilized on the Atlantic Trunk Lines and is independently controlled by an op- erating position. Stamford Station - Located in the middle of the viewing area, is an exact replica of the original east bound station before it was replaced in the early eighties, and is carved in wood. The fence which divides the pairs of tracks are made from paper clips soldered together to replicate the original fence at the station.
Trackage ............................6000+ feet Engines and Cars.........................1,700 Passenger Stations ..........................13 Commercial & Residential Buildings....114 Switch Tracks ...............................244 Yards ...........................................11 Automobiles and Trucks ..................366
Looking into the roundhouse from the turntable gives a view of engines being serviced.
New Haven freights are on the left and the "Merchants Limited" is behind a pair of DL 109's at the right.
In the seventies, construction of many commer-
cial and residential buildings began to fill in the open spaces of the layout. Double tracking of the railroad’s main line was completed. Much of the old benchwork was replaced due to humidity. Many parts of the electrical system were rewired, and converted from battery operation to solid state rectification. Prior to hosting the 1989 O Scale National Con- vention, a closed circuit TV system was added to monitor those parts of the layout which could not be seen by the operators, and operating positions were increased from 4 to 6. The club hosted the 2001 O Scale National Con- vention and additional yards and trackage were added as well as a new overhead lighting system. In 2011, work started on a catenary system which is a exact replica of the system used on the New Haven Railroad in Stamford. The overhead bridges are of the straight leg design equipped with lighted semaphores and high tension tow- ers. Today the layout has expanded to the full base- ment area and is approximately 60’ x 145’. Rail- road names operated from the east include NH, NYC, PRR, N & W; from the west include Santa Fe, Union Pacific, Great Northern. The period modeled is from 1950 to 1970 which allows a
The "Colonial, " with an EP 5, under the catenary passes through Stamford Station.
The roundhouse and diesel engine facilities are controlled by a separate operator. Some of the main yards which store passenger and freight cars and smaller complexes, are also controlled by individual operators. Freight trains can be up to sixty feet in length with as many as three diesel locomotives pulling 45 cars. The passenger trains can have two locomotives pulling 12 to 15 cars.
Round House Area - This is the steam engine terminal, with its turntable, roundhouse struc- ture and service tracks. It can accommodate as many as 26 steam locomotives. The roundhouse was built by students at the Riverside Court School in Connecticut and donated to the club in 1943. The structure has been modified and up- graded over the years and interior lighting was also added. This facility is operated independ- ently from the main operating positions of the layout.
The station at Airline Junction features a circular tower and a train order signal.
TRACTION Many of the streetcars follow Connecticut Com- pany prototypes that operated through the Stam- ford area. They are powered from overhead wires and run the entire length of the layout with cars stopping at various towns along the way.
A pair of New Haven PA 1's with the "OWL" are passing through the town of Van Nest.
RAILROAD YARDS There are 7 major yards which include Upper and Lower Rear Yards, Lower Alcove, Upper Al- cove Yard, the two hidden storage yards and (in front of the main boards) the yard labeled “Freight Yard”. All of the yards, except the Freight Yard, are controlled by the dispatcher’s position. The capacity of cars within these yards vary but can be as many as 200 to 275 cars per yard. The lower and upper Rear Yards total 56 feet in the length.
Lockville Industrial Park - This area is served by the Atlantic Trunk Lines but has its own in- dustrial railroad to distribute the cars to the var- ious industries within the park. The original Lionel Factory, built in 1937 is constructed within this park, as well as a large oil facility. Re- cent additions to this park are the railroad car floats which deliver railroad cars via car float barges. This park is also operated independently by walk around throttles. MEMBERSHIP The club is always looking for new members. Meetings are every Tuesday. Visitors are always welcome. The annual open house is usually held on the Saturday after Thanksgiving and the first Saturday of December. A Special 75th Anniversary Open House is scheduled for April 5, 2014. The club web site is
www.stamfordmodelrrclub.com or you may contact John Walther at
jwalther48@msn.com for more information.
LAYOUT STATISTICS
A pair of New Haven FL 9's stops at Stamford Station with an eastbound local.
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