White River Division

All - Wanted to pass on an update on the status of the Rensselaer Model Railroad Society’s New England Berkshire & Western layout.  A copy of the Albany Times-Union article of Thursday, 8 January providing an overview of efforts to date is attached for those who were unable to get past the paywall when Tim O'Connor posted it a week or so ago.. 

All but one section of the layout has found homes. Three sections of the layout have been chosen to be preserved by the current Society (two being the main section of Troy and the other being State Line Tunnels); the South Troy sections are going for display at the Hudson Mohawk Gateway, and other local Capital District sections to the Saratoga Corinth and Hudson Railway.

Other iconic sections are going to clubs or layout owners in the Capital District, some structures are going to the Boston Museum of Science yearly display layout, and other structures are going to distant locations as far as South Carolina.

The best rolling stock has been retained for the club; remaining member equipment has been returned or donated to the Society for retention or sale.  The existing DCC system will be sold, with the proceeds going towards a new state-of-the-art LCC/DCC system.  The club’s new home is in the ’87 Gymnasium.

Some materials, including kits and hobby supplies have been retained for the Society, along with archival materials related to the club itself and the Delaware & Hudson, Rutland, and New York Central prototype. 

Remaining material, including miscellaneous books, railroad paper, mixed structure and rolling stock parts, and kits will be sold this weekend by the Northeast Region of the NMRA at the Amherst Railroad Society Railroad Hobby Show at the Eastern States Exposition Fairgrounds (The Big “E”) in West Springfield, MA this upcoming weekend, Saturday and Sunday 24-25 January.  The last layout section will be raffled off at the show.  If you're going to the show, head to “RPI's New England Berkshire & Western Collection / NMRA-NER” in Better Living Center Booth 29a – more information on the show can be found here:
https://www.railroadhobbyshow.com/index.php 

A well-deserved “thank you” goes to project leader Stan Ames ’72, and members Doug Dederick, Greg Whittle, and Tom Amrine for weeks of effort getting layout sections ready, sorting through boxes of books and supplies, and everything ready for the show this weekend, and salvaging material and knowledge for the current club members.  This is not the fate that any of us wanted for the last incarnation of the NEB&W – it represents a time when RPI was at the forefront of the hobby, and pioneered concepts, including the Railroad Prototype Modelers movement, that continue to shape the hobby to this day.  The volunteers deserve much credit for making the most of a bad situation.


Ben Hom '89