I would like to find some fellow modelers in my home state. I’m 35yrs old and been into model railroading for over 30 of those years. I am currently building a 13’x16’ HO layout with my Dad down in South Jersey (for some reason we are unofficially 2 states, North and South Jersey [;)] ) and I’m a member of a Model railroad club in North Jersey where I live, Somerset County. Working at a hardware store in Warren, I meet alot of modelers coming in for parts for their layouts or engines. I’ve had N, HO, O, Lionel, Live Steam Modelers stop in my store in the past. In fact there is a very nice live steam club right in Warren hidden in the woods, full of extremely skilled and nice craftmans. They always joke around with me, saying they use my HO boxcars for fuel in their engines… HA Ha ha guys [:D]. I Unfortunately don’t have enough room for a layout in my Condo… Hmm, scratch that. I have managed to get a 18" x 72" switching layout in here and a 4’x4’ complete loop, with a passing siding, engine service facility(small, very small), a coaling station, and even a small interchange (enough room for one engine. This is a videos of my son and I running trains on the 4x4 http://youtube.com/watch?v=JJrCNyMaM8U . If you click on “More from this user”, to the right of the video, you can see all my videos of the layout my Dad and I are building.
So I know you’re out there… post here and let other know. The club I belong to is starting a new layout, in a new space and new members would be great. As of now we only have the benchwork finished. It’s in Bound Brook, NJ.
Although I dont live there I am from New Jersey and my layout is heavily influenced by it. I model CSX in the northeast(no specific area) and have NJ transit and Acela trains on my layout.
Hi, Ron. I’m not very far from you, and I was in your store recently trying to find that CRC 2-26 spray (you didn’t have it [V]). I don’t currently have a layout, so I keep myself busy tinkering with the equipment I do have, and exploring the abandoned ROW of the old iron mine railroads of northern NJ, in which I’ve developed an interest over the past few years. Fascinating history.
I hope your club has floatation devices mounted under the layout (I worked in Franklin when Floyd hit). Is that the club that was in a church?
The layout you’re building with your dad looks great - love the backdrops. [tup]
Unfortunately we don’t have a website yet. We’re located at the Bound Brook Presbyterian Church, The large stone church on the corner of Rt.28 and Mountain Ave. Copy this address into Google maps to get you there “RT-28 & Mountain Ave, Bound Brook, Somerset, New Jersey 08805, United States”. It’s actually in the basement of the cemetary build across the street now… the neighbors don’t complain a bit [(-D]. About a year ago we moved out of the church because of renovation, but it gave us a great opportunity to build a much better quality layout that is much bigger and a nice size crew room.
Stop on by on friday nights from 7-9pm. Go in the front door of the cemetary building and go down the stairs, you’ll here the comotion. I won’t be there for the next couple weeks because I’m finishing up my classes on friday, but the guys will probably say “Hi” and shove a screwdriver in your hand.[;)]
Sorry about the CRC spray, we usually have that in stock.
We’re lucky the club is in a dry part of Bound Brook. They were just hit with floods again, about 2 months ago. I guess the name of the town says it all… Bound Brook. After many years of bounding the brook it’s fighting back ever once in awhile.
Thanks for checking out the layout Dad and I are building. I wish I could get down there more often.
I used to sit at the traffic light every morning with the church on one side of me and the cemetery on the other when I commuted that way. I know the flooding didn’t reach that high, but you mentioned a new space, so I thought you’d relocated. There was an article in the paper about your club 4 or 5 years ago.
As if you needed any extra incentive to go down to the shore! [8D]
Nice videos! I live in Monmouth County and model the Pennsylvania Railroad with a time stamp of November 1967. This allows me to have a mix of steam, diesel and electric power.
At this point the layout is 50% completed. It has 4 passenger, 1 freight and 1 commuter line. All the scenery is made from pink foam. Five bridges extend over my version of the Raritan River.
I have included some PRR points of interest such as South Amboy engine yard, Horseshoe Curve, Galitzin Tunnels and a Pennsylvania station with 5 tracks below and 1 commuter line above at street level. Once most of the scenery is completed I will take some pictures.
You’re modeling my favorite RR. If any of you are open to visiting each others layout, how about posting or PM each other to get together. Share layouts and ideas is good on a forum but beyond great in person. I’m sure everyones layout are in different stages of completeness, so it would be beneficial to see different techniques and styles of layout.
I live in Basking Ridge 07920, and my Dad is in Mayslanding 08330. Again all I have is the switching layout and the 4x4 layout. My Dad’s house is where the action is at… the 13x16 layout. My clubs layout is in Bound Brook 08805.
I don’t have a layout, and the club I belong to is basically freelance (it started off as more of a protolance thing, but lately it’s basically (d)evolved into a “run whatever you want” layout), but I do model some NJ stuff. I have a couple of CNJ units, some Conrail (which sort of counts, I guess), lots of NJT stuff (U34CH, couple of F40s, and a bunch of coaches) and some Amtrak.
I hope to someday model the Hoboken Shore Railroad, when I have room, and I’ve got two 44-tonners waiting to be painted into the HBS scheme.
Thanks for stopping by. As you could see we are at the very beginning of the layout stage. The basic benchwork. One of the guys mentioned that a guy stopped by from some where… that must of been you. In a couple months we should be running some trains on at least the basic main line… have to keep the guys interested in it and running is the best way. We still haven’t decided on the sidings and industrial area yet, but the mainline route is pretty much set
A dockside switching layout sound like a great idea for the Hoboken area. You can pack alot of switching in a small area.
I would still like to know of any other NJ model railroaders out there.?
Update on the layouts.
The Clubs mainlines are up and running. Run night is the first friday of every month. A lot of the scenery is underway. The yard and engine service area is pretty well established also.
My Dad’s layout is 95% trackwork complete. I am now into the scenery and structure building stage. You can see a complete progress report in my signature link below. A lot of picutres and videos are there.
New Jersey is one of the birthplaces of model railroading. There are many clubs and private layouts out there… let’s here from you.
I live in Merchantville, adjacent to Pennsauken and Cherry Hill. In fact, I’m a member of Council here (yes, that’s right, I’m a … urgh! … politician! [xx(] Actually, I’m just someone who got fed up with the way some things were being done, and decided I could do it better. Heck, a dead man could do it better than some of these folks!).
But about the trains - I’m building the CB&Q in Wyoming (where I’m from). Progress has always been slow, what with all the work we’re doing to the house, but with the Council, it’s positively glacial!
There’s a link to my website in my sig. I operate on one or two local private layouts once a month. This area has quite an active group of operators who meet at each other’s homes. My own layout isn’t far enough ahead to host session yet, though.
I spent 45 years in North Jersey ( Harrington Park, Hackensack, Dumont, and Demarest) but, only 2 years in South Jersey ( Riverside). How do you pronounce Schuylkill again?
I can model from Erie & DL&W days to today with NS,NJT,Amtrak,CSX,& a couple of EL fantasy units. N scale,of course. The REAL modellers scale !!! [tup][bow][swg]
I’m in Great Meadows, near Hackettstown and Belvidere. Have nothing but a small HO switching layout, have been seeking out a club in the area for a long time. Modeling interests are NYS&W, D&H, and early Conrail.