Always sad to see this happen to a club layout. A club that I used to belong to met the same fate when a new owner decided they needed the space that we occupied. Thanks for sharing. They had a beautiful layout.
Great to hear about the relocation to Middletown after being evicted by the Laurel Center who used government grants generated by our own tax dollars to bugger CSX into selling the property for $205K. A community group like the Winchester Model Railroad Club benefits families through open houses and encourages younger people to participate in the club and take up the hobby of model railroading. I'd say your organization has done more through the years to benefit families than the Laurel Center, and at no cost to the tax payer! Found these great quotes from the news paper article. "I am delighted to be helping the town with this project," Dave Holliday said in a media release. "Reconstructing the train station is a great way to bring back a wonderful piece of history for the benefit of our community's future." "We were looking to move to a more appreciative community, and it is a great pleasure to be a part of Middletown," club President Jim Clevenger said.
I really enjoyed both the commentary and the layout itself. Ive built a couple layouts myself and know the pain of having to tear them down. Its never a fun feeling after so much work went into something you love to build, only to have to move it. Good success in your new endeavors, thanks for sharing such fond memeories.
If it is leased be prepared to design the layout modular if you plan on keeping it. Leases don't last forever and can end whenever for whatever reason. That or get a place and own it outright (good luck in this economy unless you are already wealthy).
@@OriginalBongoliath Yep, modular, or at least sectional, is definitely the way to go with club and even personal layouts because other than that the future will arrive, you just don't know what the future will do.
A beautiful layout with a sad and needless end, it's sad to see people in the business of being charitable being so uncharitable. I hope construction begins soon and thankfully you had preserved this for all to see, thank you.
I have been a member of many clubs in 70ish yrs. !. Motorcycle, cars, water pumping, light aircraft, modelling etc. etc. All good people , commonality ; creativity. This lovely charitable lady from undisclosed charity wrecked you guys for a while. We'll be back !!!. Thanks playmates. Dave
Jimmy - Great video and magnificent layout! One of the best I've seen. Your club has some real talent in it for sure. Too bad the "philistines" that you had to deal with were blocked you in every way, and that for just a parking lot and a storage building. For those people history only goes back about a week and a half. The have no appreciation of neither history or art, for indeed creating a model like your club's is a work of art! As I kid I was into HO and was building a layout. I got busy with other things and put everything into a steamer trunk to save. Now, many years later, I've restored most of my equipment and built a small test track with a view toward eventually building a small layout. My late girlfriend was not interested in model trains at all until I dragged her to the Rensselaer Polytechnic MRRC. For years after she reminded me to visit the layout at least once a year. If she were here today we would have had a lot of fun building a new layout together. -dave
Great job on this video Jimmy!!! We hope you help us document the new layout coming to life. We as club members are super excited to get going once we get all the permitting, concept drawings, planning and etc out of the way. Things are moving along just never as fast as we all wish.
Great layout 👍 sad it had to be taken down 👎If you can get space in a museum that people will pay to see you should be ok. Good luck with your new plans 🙏🙏
Did this club rebuild their layout sometime before 2017? I remember my Dad & I contemplated joining a model railroad club in Winchester around 2003, but when we visited their layout didnt look like this, & seemed like it hadn't been maintained as well as it needed to be for accident-free operation. Both by comparison and in its own right, this layout looks spectacular!
Thank you..thank you very enjoyable and fantastic commentary..made my day for years ago with trains and their fun..the very best to you for sharing great memories!😊
If I owned that building I would have DONATED it to the club there in lovely Virginia. I have visit parks and spent time with girls we camped together and know many wonderful people and the great history of your state. I am saddened some old hag just wanted to store her trashy items in the building and tossed you out so meaningfully. A pox on her and her ncestors! This is one of the finest r/r video on youtube no matter what size it is. I wish I had known as I may have been able to get several people there & friends to start collection to overide Ms. Nastibones to take her building legally and store her somewhere! Some old crabby nasty people live everywhere as I have seen in my almost 77 years on earth and they just cn not be voided. I downloaded this video and will burn it to a dvd to keep forever and always remember this fine example of nice folks working together. Ray C in Florida. FYI: I have the B&M in a great room in my home and NOONE IS MOVING ME OUT. I also have several of the cars I see on the layout in this video as well. My friend Conrad was an engineer on the B&M starting as a fireman working his way up. I have a mountain diviision as well and a 3 long track staging hidden insode of a mountain so trains come and got recycling inside the opposite end of the mountain on another section to restage. Here is my web site: myray@gcn.cx Two prts one HO, pics are prototype. I was lucky enought to get old 1492 2-6-0 mogul from a friend in SLOVENI if you can believe that!!!!!!!!!!!! Lucky Ray
Sounds about the same as our club layout. Started in Mishawaka Indiana in the early 50's we moved to South Bend and then to a great freight station back in Mishawaka. The family that had the station sold it and the new owner didn't want the train club in the faciity. The layout was broken down, the parts sold at swap mets and the club is now only a memory.
It may be worth noting that the person in charge of that non profit, has received some serious backlash for their actions, both from the city and the people whom her non profit serves. They've also had their funding cut by some 600 thousand dollars, and she's on record as saying she believes this is a result of her decision to evict the model railroad.
I haven't had an ear to the ground in Winchester since the last meeting at the freight station, but I would not be surprised if there was blowback. Don't misunderstand, I take no joy in hearing of such blowback. The whole situation was/is unfortunate for all involved.
Great video I remember being a member there. Lots of great knowledge I have learned. I still will never be a fan of the organization that took away our clubhouse. Karma is one of those things that always comes back and that woman has a debt to pay
Something similar happened when Denver’s Union Station was remodeled into an intermodal type station; there was a layout maintained by a local club in the old station, but when it was remodeled the layout had to go-and in the process most of it was lost, including (as I understand it) some pretty rare stuff. There has not been any word if they will be able to rebuild a new layout in the station…😢🚂
I've always believed that the Darkest, Coldest part of Night is always right before a New Sunrise. Every Ending leads to a New Beginning. I wish you well in your new location.😎
This made me so mad that I looked into who did this, and now I know why the narrator was so vague. But as someone who lives in a big city and doesn’t know the first thing about model railroading let me say this: That woman who pulled the rug from under the train club to replace it with a cafe for a battered woman’s shelter really made me resentful😢.
Another problem in clubs is politics. If you are different from the "elite" you are in trouble. Also when the "elite" ruling members are found to be violating the club's bylaws and constitution. Are the "elite" held accountable? No. The whistle blower is forced out. It does not matter all that you have done for the club for many years.
What an outstanding layout - from the smooth running trackage, trains and the realistic scenery, the club members who created this deserve a "WELL DONE". It's an encyclopedia of great ideas that I'm going to use and hopefully duplicate. I hope the move went smoothly and Best Wishes !
Jimmy, thanks for posting this memory of the Winchester Club. I got to bring my 2 young grand boys the last 2 first night open house. I will be watching what happens in Middletown. FrankB
Well, it wasn't converted for storage. The last time i drove by it looked as though the building had been completely gutted and remodeled for a possible building lease. I can't give a further update, i moved to Christiansburg, Va.
I first met with the club in 2012. Made some amazing friends with these guys and have been visiting Winchester once or twice a year. Broke my heart when Jim C told me of the building's fate.
Awesome video of that layout. Well designed and done. Very sad to see one that good, go away. Trying to find me a club to help out. But Las Vegas, doesn't offer it yet. That I know of anyway. I've got over 20 engines and cars, and tons of track. About to start my own and see what can be done.
BTW- excellent video. It tells a story and showcases all the wonderful details you guys built into the layout. Great vignettes of life along the rails. EfrankB
Great videos. Thank you for sharing. I was a member of a club in PA until I retired. To prevent this kind of issue and to enable us to travel to shows, everything was built on 2x4 modules that could be shuffled as desired. As a quick aside, never store your pics and videos on memory cards. Their memory is not stable. Transfer everything to a computer and then back that up to an external drive, like the WD Passport.
I will always have a little jealousy of the people that are able to make a mixed freight like that CSX AC6000. All kinds of cars from railroads from far and wide, and it looks perfect. I look at my own attempts and can see where one railroad would never have known another, either through geographical distance or them not existing at the same time. I just can't seem to find in my own consists some quality of realism that seems present everywhere else. Maybe I need to take a hint from here and not always run 20+ car trains.
Definitely can relate when I was a member of the Modesto Model Railroad Club in Modesto, CA. The MMRC was in a vacant store in a mall. The mall closed ending the MMRC, never to be restarted again.
So sorry it had to happen. Best wishes for the future with a new location. Please tell us the name of the organization that was so unwilling to work with you, so we can be sure never to support them in any way, and who "she" is.
What are the hangy-down things, look like thick hairs, that are suspended above the tracks? No locomotive brushes them and they seem to have no purpose.
I think you're referring to the "tell tales." They were used once upon a time to warn brakemen atop trains of upcoming low clearances like bridges and tunnels. They were probably a little high on the Shenandoah & Western as the layout was set up to handle modern equipment as well.
When I was little my mom used to take me to watch trains during the very last days of steam and I recall wondering the same thing at the time. Seeing regular NYC steam lead consists chug by, slowing down for the upcoming bridge, is something I'll never forget. The engineers never forgot to wave at me. My uncle was a conductor for the NYC but I never got a chance to ride with him 😢 Edit: I knew what they were. Either my parents told me or I figured it out. It was many decades ago, when brakemen still strolled the tops of freight cars. -dave
Always sad to see this happen to a club layout. A club that I used to belong to met the same fate when a new owner decided they needed the space that we occupied. Thanks for sharing. They had a beautiful layout.
As a citizen of Middletown, it will be great to have the club here in an historic location owning their own building.
Yea I really want to know what business this was. What an evil and selfish person.
I’d have left it all for HER to clean out.
This is tragic to see and hear. I'm glad the club could get another place. Can't wait to see more about it in the future. Thanks for this video
Fun. Remember when as kids all we had was a magazine article with a few photos, maybe one in color? Thank you for making this video.
Great to hear about the relocation to Middletown after being evicted by the Laurel Center who used government grants generated by our own tax dollars to bugger CSX into selling the property for $205K. A community group like the Winchester Model Railroad Club benefits families through open houses and encourages younger people to participate in the club and take up the hobby of model railroading. I'd say your organization has done more through the years to benefit families than the Laurel Center, and at no cost to the tax payer!
Found these great quotes from the news paper article. "I am delighted to be helping the town with this project," Dave Holliday said in a media release. "Reconstructing the train station is a great way to bring back a wonderful piece of history for the benefit of our community's future." "We were looking to move to a more appreciative community, and it is a great pleasure to be a part of Middletown," club President Jim Clevenger said.
I really enjoyed both the commentary and the layout itself. Ive built a couple layouts myself and know the pain of having to tear them down. Its never a fun feeling after so much work went into something you love to build, only to have to move it. Good success in your new endeavors, thanks for sharing such fond memeories.
as someone who is contemplating starting a model railroad club, I am very concerned about any model we would use that involves leased space
If it is leased be prepared to design the layout modular if you plan on keeping it. Leases don't last forever and can end whenever for whatever reason. That or get a place and own it outright (good luck in this economy unless you are already wealthy).
@@OriginalBongoliath Yep, modular, or at least sectional, is definitely the way to go with club and even personal layouts because other than that the future will arrive, you just don't know what the future will do.
Do yourself a favor and make your own layout
A beautiful layout with a sad and needless end, it's sad to see people in the business of being charitable being so uncharitable. I hope construction begins soon and thankfully you had preserved this for all to see, thank you.
I have been a member of many clubs in 70ish yrs. !. Motorcycle, cars, water pumping, light aircraft, modelling etc. etc. All good people , commonality ; creativity. This lovely charitable lady from undisclosed charity wrecked you guys for a while. We'll be back !!!. Thanks playmates. Dave
Jimmy - Great video and magnificent layout! One of the best I've seen. Your club has some real talent in it for sure. Too bad the "philistines" that you had to deal with were blocked you in every way, and that for just a parking lot and a storage building. For those people history only goes back about a week and a half. The have no appreciation of neither history or art, for indeed creating a model like your club's is a work of art!
As I kid I was into HO and was building a layout. I got busy with other things and put everything into a steamer trunk to save. Now, many years later, I've restored most of my equipment and built a small test track with a view toward eventually building a small layout.
My late girlfriend was not interested in model trains at all until I dragged her to the Rensselaer Polytechnic MRRC. For years after she reminded me to visit the layout at least once a year. If she were here today we would have had a lot of fun building a new layout together.
-dave
I missed the last train show down there. Right up the road in Greencastle PA
Seaboard Air Line citrus scheme...beautiful!👌
Great job on this video Jimmy!!! We hope you help us document the new layout coming to life. We as club members are super excited to get going once we get all the permitting, concept drawings, planning and etc out of the way. Things are moving along just never as fast as we all wish.
Great layout 👍 sad it had to be taken down 👎If you can get space in a museum that people will pay to see you should be ok. Good luck with your new
plans 🙏🙏
Did this club rebuild their layout sometime before 2017? I remember my Dad & I contemplated joining a model railroad club in Winchester around 2003, but when we visited their layout didnt look like this, & seemed like it hadn't been maintained as well as it needed to be for accident-free operation. Both by comparison and in its own right, this layout looks spectacular!
Thank you..thank you very enjoyable and fantastic commentary..made my day for years ago with trains and their fun..the very best to you for sharing great memories!😊
Sad story indeed. It would have been nice if you had included a link for taking donations to help reach the $200k mark.
If I owned that building I would have DONATED it to the club there in lovely Virginia. I have visit parks and spent time with girls we camped together and know many wonderful people and the great history of your state. I am saddened some old hag just wanted to store her trashy items in the building and tossed you out so meaningfully. A pox on her and her ncestors! This is one of the finest r/r video on youtube no matter what size it is. I wish I had known as I may have been able to get several people there & friends to start collection to overide Ms. Nastibones to take her building legally and store her somewhere! Some old crabby nasty people live everywhere as I have seen in my almost 77 years on earth and they just cn not be voided. I downloaded this video and will burn it to a dvd to keep forever and always remember this fine example of nice folks working together. Ray C in Florida.
FYI: I have the B&M in a great room in my home and NOONE IS MOVING ME OUT. I also have several of the cars I see on the layout in this video as well. My friend Conrad was an engineer on the B&M starting as a fireman working his way up. I have a mountain diviision as well and a 3 long track staging hidden insode of a mountain so trains come and got recycling inside the opposite end of the mountain on another section to restage.
Here is my web site: myray@gcn.cx Two prts one HO, pics are prototype.
I was lucky enought to get old 1492 2-6-0 mogul from a friend in SLOVENI if you can believe that!!!!!!!!!!!! Lucky Ray
Sounds about the same as our club layout. Started in Mishawaka Indiana in the early 50's we moved to South Bend and then to a great freight station back in Mishawaka. The family that had the station sold it and the new owner didn't want the train club in the faciity. The layout was broken down, the parts sold at swap mets and the club is now only a memory.
Great sound of a wonderful layout
It may be worth noting that the person in charge of that non profit, has received some serious backlash for their actions, both from the city and the people whom her non profit serves. They've also had their funding cut by some 600 thousand dollars, and she's on record as saying she believes this is a result of her decision to evict the model railroad.
I haven't had an ear to the ground in Winchester since the last meeting at the freight station, but I would not be surprised if there was blowback. Don't misunderstand, I take no joy in hearing of such blowback. The whole situation was/is unfortunate for all involved.
glad they will rebuild. I believe my dad was a club member for a time back in the 90s.
Great video I remember being a member there. Lots of great knowledge I have learned. I still will never be a fan of the organization that took away our clubhouse. Karma is one of those things that always comes back and that woman has a debt to pay
Greetings from another Lambert..Richard G. Lambert jr, Archdale NC....and model railroader.....✌️😎
Something similar happened when Denver’s Union Station was remodeled into an intermodal type station; there was a
layout maintained by a local club in the old station, but when it was remodeled the layout had to go-and in the process most of it was lost, including (as I understand it) some pretty rare stuff.
There has not been any word if they will be able to rebuild a new layout in the station…😢🚂
Love the N&W 2-8-0
I've always believed that the Darkest, Coldest part of Night is always right before a New Sunrise. Every Ending leads to a New Beginning. I wish you well in your new location.😎
Man this reminds me when my old club shut down. The Baltimore Society Of Model Engineers. It shut because the power company thought it as "unsafe"
This had to be heart breaking for the club to destroy. What a shame! Glad the club made it though!
This made me so mad that I looked into who did this, and now I know why the narrator was so vague. But as someone who lives in a big city and doesn’t know the first thing about model railroading let me say this: That woman who pulled the rug from under the train club to replace it with a cafe for a battered woman’s shelter really made me resentful😢.
Another problem in clubs is politics. If you are different from the "elite" you are in trouble. Also when the "elite" ruling members are found to be violating the club's bylaws and constitution. Are the "elite" held accountable? No. The whistle blower is forced out. It does not matter all that you have done for the club for many years.
Cool video and channel just subscribed
Thank you, for your video of this layout! what an inspiration, for model railroaders everywhere!!!!
That sucks the club I belong to is possibly looking at the same fate at the end of our lease expires.
Gentleman, without a doubt this is one of the best train videos I have ever seen. May God Bless all owners and workers.
Really this made me sad
That nonprofit organization lady Has no idea what this stuff means to us
She should have been mentioned by name.
@@kenm3245 It looks like the non-profit got a new CEO in the last few months, so it looks like the woman in question is gone.
@@michaelsavely2448 problem is so is the layout
@@michaelsavely2448What was the nonprofit?
Those of us who donate to non-profits would really like to know who was responsible for this. It could definitely change my givings.
Where's the cats? I like model railroad layouts that have cats.
What an outstanding layout - from the smooth running trackage, trains and the realistic scenery, the club members who created this deserve a "WELL DONE". It's an encyclopedia of great ideas that I'm going to use and hopefully duplicate. I hope the move went smoothly and Best Wishes !
Jimmy, thanks for posting this memory of the Winchester Club. I got to bring my 2 young grand boys the last 2 first night open house. I will be watching what happens in Middletown.
FrankB
Well, it wasn't converted for storage. The last time i drove by it looked as though the building had been completely gutted and remodeled for a possible building lease. I can't give a further update, i moved to Christiansburg, Va.
I first met with the club in 2012. Made some amazing friends with these guys and have been visiting Winchester once or twice a year. Broke my heart when Jim C told me of the building's fate.
Awesome video of that layout. Well designed and done. Very sad to see one that good, go away.
Trying to find me a club to help out. But Las Vegas, doesn't offer it yet. That I know of anyway. I've got over 20 engines and cars, and tons of track. About to start my own and see what can be done.
The model railroad club I was involved with in NJ came to the same conclusion as the folk owning the building got gready
BTW- excellent video. It tells a story and showcases all the wonderful details you guys built into the layout. Great vignettes of life along the rails.
EfrankB
Great videos. Thank you for sharing. I was a member of a club in PA until I retired. To prevent this kind of issue and to enable us to travel to shows, everything was built on 2x4 modules that could be shuffled as desired. As a quick aside, never store your pics and videos on memory cards. Their memory is not stable. Transfer everything to a computer and then back that up to an external drive, like the WD Passport.
I will always have a little jealousy of the people that are able to make a mixed freight like that CSX AC6000. All kinds of cars from railroads from far and wide, and it looks perfect. I look at my own attempts and can see where one railroad would never have known another, either through geographical distance or them not existing at the same time. I just can't seem to find in my own consists some quality of realism that seems present everywhere else. Maybe I need to take a hint from here and not always run 20+ car trains.
Definitely can relate when I was a member of the Modesto Model Railroad Club in Modesto, CA. The MMRC was in a vacant store in a mall. The mall closed ending the MMRC, never to be restarted again.
I guess this could be a lesson for future clubs, build modular! unless you own the property you'll never know when the greedy will strike.
Thanks for sharing your layout story and best wishes for your exciting new venture!
this is awesome! (and i have that same Volvo wagon outside the freight station! doubly awesome! 🥰👍)
Sad and fast demise. Hope she loses the property somehow. Such a beautiful layout.
So sorry it had to happen. Best wishes for the future with a new location.
Please tell us the name of the organization that was so unwilling to work with you, so we can be sure never to support them in any way, and who "she" is.
Beautiful Pennsylvania passenger train with 16 cars.
keep it going
This a beautiful pic
Build in modules or sections
Thank you very much
nice video
Nice stuff
What are the hangy-down things, look like thick hairs, that are suspended above the tracks? No locomotive brushes them and they seem to have no purpose.
I think you're referring to the "tell tales." They were used once upon a time to warn brakemen atop trains of upcoming low clearances like bridges and tunnels. They were probably a little high on the Shenandoah & Western as the layout was set up to handle modern equipment as well.
When I was little my mom used to take me to watch trains during the very last days of steam and I recall wondering the same thing at the time. Seeing regular NYC steam lead consists chug by, slowing down for the upcoming bridge, is something I'll never forget. The engineers never forgot to wave at me. My uncle was a conductor for the NYC but I never got a chance to ride with him 😢
Edit: I knew what they were. Either my parents told me or I figured it out. It was many decades ago, when brakemen still strolled the tops of freight cars.
-dave
These we’re putting up to warn only one on top of a car that a tunnel was coming up, so keep low, don’t stand up!
Fabulous!
That was a good layout.
This is the ADULT version of "Thomas the Train".