In the News
Mid-South Garden Railway Society
Sep 17, 2003
By BJ Senton |
Author
Bio
Mid-South Garden Railway Society (MSGRS) is a not for profit family organization and is affiliated with the Memphis Transportation Museum, whose purpose is bringing together a group of interested persons in large scale model trains.
|
>Mid-South Garden Railway Society (MSGRS) is a not for profit family organization and is affiliated with the Memphis Transportation Museum, whose purpose is bringing together a group of interested persons in large scale model trains. 
Formed in late 1997, MSGRS has enjoyed continued growth. Our members live in Tennessee, Arkansas, Missouri and Mississippi. Pot luck dinners, gathering at restaurants and back yard picnics keep interests varied and very sociable. MSGRS has adopted a Junior Member program that rewards genuinely interested kids in our hobby. Special parties are planned throughout the year for junior members and their friends. 
MSGRS meets on the second Thursday of the month at 6:30 p.m. or on the following Saturday in a member's home or alternate location. These meeting locations are reserved by members months ahead to allow them to 'show off' their hard work and pride in their outdoor and indoor layouts and to be hosts to their friends and visitors. We announce our meetings and other functions in the monthly, full color newsletter (mailed & Emailed members and to any interested, including other clubs and societies from Florida, California, Washington and Kentucky).
We try to have a presentation or demonstration at each meeting. We have refreshments for our meetings, usually potluck style, but always plenty. The fellowship is what keeps the group tightly knit and visitors seem to respond very favorably to the hospitality shown to them. We operated a portable layout during Model Train Shows in and around the Mid-South. The portable layout became permanent and has grown to fit the clubroom we acquired early in 1998. Our original clubroom was located at the Belz Factory Outlet World Mall, (Exit 20 I-40). In July of 2002 we lost this space and a few months later procured a lease on a Train Coach owned by the Memphis Transportation Museum that has a number of cars in the Historic Town Square of Collierville, Tn. Their cars consist of "The Dyerburg" Lounge car, a very early Budd stainless-steel that was built for deluxe service for the first streamlined Santa Fe Chief in 1937. A Pullman "Winston Hoover" was constructed by Pullman-Standard for Santa Fe Super Chief service in 1948. The "Ruth Pidgeon" is a diner and is one of two diners built for the Lackawanna Railroad in 1949. The "Everett Pidgeon, Sr." is a Parlor-Lounge Observation and the American Car & Foundry Co. delivered this car to the Wabash Railroad for the City of Kansas City service and 'may' have seen service on the Cannonball route. 
The steam Locomotive #1351 was built as a 2-8-0 consolidation for the Frisco Railroad in 1912 and later rebuilt with a larger firebox and converted into a Mikado style engine when the trailing trucks were added. These cars are open to the public and may be rented for parties. The 1915 Office Car is owned by the City of Collierville and was built by Pullman for the Seaboard Air Line Railroad official use. The lounge and dining cars are available for rent for parties, and when requested, we open the layout for private touring. 
Our Layout "Club Coach" is located on the west end of the sidings between the steam engine/tender and caboose. The "Club Coach" and the restored Southern Railway caboose (owned by the City of Collierville) are open to the public on Saturdays 10 am to 4 pm. And when the Town Square has special events we are open for them also. The Holiday Schedule increases to include the Friday after Thanksgiving and Sundays until New Years. The admission is free, however donations are accepted. As far as we know the ONLY FREE, PUBLIC LAYOUT IN A REAL TRAIN COACH. The coach is #239 Pullman built for The Atlantic Cost Line in its Florida service. We can see this coach loaded with vacationers headed south, maybe all the way to Key West. Amtrak gained hold of the company and the coach and remodeled it twice during its life with Amtrak. Amtrak took it out of service and gutted it, but was saved from the scrap yard by Memphis Transportation Museum and stored at the Memphis Army depot until it's closure and then moved to it's present home.
 When we entered the coach for the first time, there was nothing, no power, no lighting, no heat or air conditioning. The floors, which are concrete over steel was in really bad shape. It took almost three months and much money (club dues and donations) to get "up and running". We opened our doors Thanksgiving weekend 2002, and have not missed a weekend since. 
At the present time we have 3 point-to-points running with a total of 88 ft. of track. Two of these run side-by-side, but in opposite directions right in front of the window and very visible from the outside. The other point line is on the opposite side of the coach and is entwined with vines growing on the fence. The inner loop has a total of 89 ft. of track that includes three active sidings and a safety block that allows us to run four trains on it. The outer loop has a little over 100 ft. of track including one siding with two trains on it. Both of these loops change elevation and drop to floor level to go into the mountain and to go under the footbridges on each end of the coach.
 
The "Mountain loop" consists of 13 ft of track and one train on it going around the top third of the mountain. We have the plans for a figure eight loop on the overhead package shelf that will use over 150 ft. of track and will have two trains running there and another track that will be a point on one end and a reverse loop on the other using about 90 ft. of track. 
All of our trains run automatically using track switches and magnets or timers. Rolling stock includes engines by Bachmann, Aristo, LGB and Hartland. A special train running custom designed toy scene box cars including Winnie the Pooh, Blue's Clues, Toy Story and others themes and a cow train by LGB moos around each corner. A number of box cars, gondolas, tankers and flat cars have been specially painted and lettered honoring donations made by businesses, groups and members.
The layout is track powered and power consists of a 12 amp. Blue Streak transformer (3 controls), one LGB Starter set transformer and one home made transformer. Two of the point-to-points are controlled with an Aristocraft point-to-point set that we have set to run in opposite directions that pass each other in the middle. The other is a custom timer circuit and using a custom transformer. Most of the buildings are scratch-built by members, including the 4 foot tall, four foot wide and 3 foot deep mountain. The Steam Engine and Tender are viewed from the ground level only, but an accessible ramp and platform beside the coach allows viewing through the windows, even when we are not operating. This ramp and platform was made possible through the generous donations from our coach visitors, The Silver Caboose Restaurant located in the town square and to Chandler Wrecking Co. in Memphis and a lot of work by our own members. 
Switches at the windows allow trains and lights to be turned on activating a timer even during off hours. We have a "Brio" type layout for the little hands to enjoy along with restored seats from Tolleys for the adults to relax. There is an archive of Magazines and other books on Trains; model railroading and related subjects available reading along with an area dedicated to handouts, newsletters, brochures and other free information. 
Our layout is not "on a table", instead, it reflects the outdoors from "our" layouts at home by being mostly ground level and extensive landscaping using artificial plants and foot bridges to cross the tracks to give the feeling of the back yard. Wood fencing along the wall, round out the back yard experience. If you listen carefully you may even hear a mosquito humming near your ear. Extensive use of Innovative Train Technology Systems sound cards used around the layout heightens the visit with sound. 
 The display is manned by volunteers (operating engineers must be members and have trained on the operation of the coach layout) and is headed by the Chief Operating Engineer (also a volunteer) who has total responsibility for the display and its operation. All the donations from visitors to the club room goes toward display improvements. We try to maintain a supply of free gifts for our young visitors. Just like our own layouts at home, this one, even though it is in a real train coach, is a living and growing project. It lives because of the love of the hobby by our members and the look in the eyes of the children of all ages that pass though or peer though the windows. That is what we do and love. Come and visit, everyone is always welcome at the Mid-South Garden Railway Society's Large Scale Layout. Top of Page
|
