NY Society of Model Engineers

Fabulous. Get any ideas for adds to your club? Seems to me, without them we wouldn't have the refers we have! 

I was reading a very old Magazine a while back. It was my understanding that they used to be based in Manhattan near Columbus Circle in the basement of Newsweek.  I wish this were still the case because to my understanding there are no more train clubs in manhattan.

NY Society of Model Engineers will also be hosting the 2012 O Scale Convention

at the Parsippany NJ Hilton Hotel, July 19-22

WOW VERY NICE LAYOUT

 

THANKS, ALEX

Ben

Any of them coming to Club night this week?  Where are the located?

Very nice! They should set up at York.

Dad used to take me on the ferry across the Hudson to see the huge outside third rail NYSME layout upstairs in the Lackawanna Hoboken terminal. That layout had a fabulous scale model of the very terminal it was in, ferry slips and all. I can remember the floor vibrating when the Pheobe Snow cruised by.

 

Later we'd take the bus to Carlstadt, the O layout was still outside third rail but the HO layout clamored for equal space. I loved the HO hump yard there.

 

Pete

Steve

Most of these pictures were taken for ideas for my club

 

Silver Lake

They have been in many sites.  They bought their current building in 1955 I believe  They were also housed in the Lackawanna Hoboken terminal for awhile.

 

Steve

They are in East Rutheford just west of the Meadowlands Sports complex.  Pretty nice layout  I haven't heard back from them after the invite to club night.

Their layout makes me wish I lived in New York and not Ohio!

Cobrabob.

What is also great about NYSME which I always loved was on the HO layout the operating Hump Yard which worked great and The Dragon Cement plant complex.The Cantenary on the O layout was second to none.

The backdrops are incredible.   I asked about these and one of their web site administrator explained they were painted by two of the former members who took scenic landscape painting classes at a local adult education venue.

I've been there several times. Great layout. Actually two great layouts. Mike R

I believe the NYSME started in New York City in the 1930.s originally on 42nd st. off Broadway. Then they moved the layout to a few new locations before ending up in New Jersey. IIRC only small sections of the original layout remain.

In the 1930's there were lots of basement layouts in Manhattan. There were a few stories in some of the old railroad magazines about layouts in some of the NYC apartment buildings and rooming houses. Lionel and Flyer had their products showcased there in good size layouts too.That was a time when model railroading was the "in" high tech hobby. Today model railroading is more of a specialty hobby for middle age people who love history, nostalgia, arts & Crafts and enjoy operating. You'd be hard pressed to see more than the model train Christmas layouts at Macy's and at the Grand Central Transit Museum right now. Most of the year you cannot even find or buy trains in NYC.

In the New York metro area, all the top end layouts are now located in New Jersey!!!!

There is still one basement layout laft in an apartment in New York City  Its called the Bay Ridge Model Railroad

 

This is from the history of NYSME website

The Society has called many places home and it has been said that we have been dispossessed more times than any other group! We started on the 8^th floor of the Knickerbocker Building in New York City, and then were moved to the basement. Next we moved to 34^th Street. After that the Science Building on 32^nd Street. We were evicted again and at that point the Society got lucky.

The Lackawanna Railroad discontinued some of their ferry service after World War II, and we were able to secure the upper ferry concourse at the Hoboken Terminal. At this site we built the largest model railroad in the world at that time. In 1958, the Society was evicted again, this time by the United States Postal Service. The concourse was going to serve as a mail sorting area. But after the railroads were dismantled, the USPS decided to let the airlines handle first class mail. The concourse was never occupied and we were invited to move back. By that time, however, we had purchased our own building and moved to our current location in Carlstadt, NJ.

There is another model railroad club in the basement of a large appartment house. It is in Queens NY and it is HO. It is the Queens County Model Railroaders  They used to be the Empire Valley Model Railroad Club. I was a member there some 25 years ago. The layout is in a room that is 30'X60'. They are down the block from the Sunnyside rail yards.

Jim D.

There are certainly some basement and apartment house layouts in Queens, Brooklyn, Staten Island and the Bronx but my comment was for Manhattan. The place where Lionel was originally born probably is the most layout free place in the USA except during Christmas season. Hard to find a train store there as well. Year back trains stores, basement layouts and hobbyists could be found. Why are Manhattan residents not for trains? 

Dennis I do not think Manhatten residents are against model trains. Might be the Astronomical High rents in Manhatten.

The thing about Manhattan now is that

1- It is loaded with Yuppiesfrom all over the country  that are too interested in looking cool and making money than being interested in trains

2- If not Yuppies it is loaded with foreigners that are too busy trying to scratch a living to support their families  No time for trains

3- The rents are astronomical  The outer boroughs offer rents at 1/3 the cost

4- And 4 is there isn't a middle class in Manhattan.  That is usually who dabbles in trains.