Cherry Valley O Scale is a not-for-profit club dedicated to the promotion of 2-rail O-scale (1:48) model railroading, [1] located in Merchantville, New Jersey, United States, in the basement/undercroft of the Grace Episcopal Church. [2] [3] [4]
Cherry Valley O Scale is a not-for-profit club dedicated to the promotion of 2-rail O-scale (1:48) model railroading, [1] located in Merchantville, New Jersey, United States, in the basement/undercroft of the Grace Episcopal Church. [2] [3] [4]
The club was started in March 1962, [5] [6] [7] by members of the former Philadelphia Model Railroad Club, which had been located in the B&O passenger station on Chestnut St. in Philadelphia, [4] [8] after the B&O station was demolished. (Some members of the PMRC also went on to start the East Penn Traction Club several years later.) [9]
When first started, the space was an 80' x 35' unfinished crawl space directly under the original 1890s chapel. Finishing the space took weeks, with the removal of 4' of dirt [6] before 20 cubic yards of concrete was used for the new floor. [10] The first layout in the space was started in July 1962, [11] with the framing and scenery built before the track was laid, and the first spike driven on August 30, 1962. [10] This layout was 27 by 55 feet in size, [12] and was of a double-track folded dogbone design, built with traditional square tabletop framing, plaster scenery, and relay control. [4] Eventually it grew to have over 4000 linear feet of track, [6] in both standard and 3-foot gauges, with some dual gauge mixed in. [12]
It existed through to January 1999, [6] when it was torn down due to growing problems with accessibility and electrical characteristics. [4] [6] Many of the original structures and switches have been saved, for eventual inclusion on the new layout. Most notable of these is a 1940s train station model which had previously been salvaged from the layout at the PMRC location on Chestnut Street. [4] [13]
In 2012, the club's 50th anniversary was celebrated with a proclamation of the Merchantville Town Council, at their October public session. [4] [14]
The new layout was started in 2001, [15] is of a double-track looped-8 design; but has been built around the walls, with several reversing loops, curved laminate benchwork, more than 2000 linear feet of track, [16] and a scale model of Philadelphia's 30th Street Station. [15] Scenery has been built with a mix of hydrocal and extruded styrofoam board, and North Coast Engineering (NCE) Digital Command Control has been installed to allow running of multiple trains without the need for complex relay systems. [8] [16] The layout also features working signals that display proper occupancy, as well as scale-sized lighting fixtures for night scenes.
A new On30 narrow gauge branchline is being constructed at one end of the layout, with plans to expand it as time and resources allow. [8] Rolling stock is owned by the individual members, [8] [13] with the club jointly owning the layout and control system. This rolling stock represents all periods of history, [15] and is a mixture of brass, bronze, tin, white metal, plastic, resin, wood, paper, cardboard, and die-cast models; most of which has been extensively kitbashed/modified, features custom paint and water-slide decals; and has been weathered to better replicate real-world conditions. [8]
Although the original layout did have a short section of catenary, most of it was destroyed when the layout was torn down. [6] However, the new layout is being constructed with a full PRR-Style compound catenary system over the entire layout. This catenary system is being integrated into the power distribution, [15] so that the electric locomotives and MU cars will receive power via their operating pantographs. [17]
The club is governed by president, vice president, treasurer, and secretary. All officers serve, on a voluntary basis, as the organization's Board of Directors.
Meetings are held each Tuesday evening. Business meetings are typically held on the second Tuesday of the month.
Every year, the club traditionally has several "Open House" weekends near the end of the year, in conjunction with the Merchantville annual Christmas parade and Tree Lighting ceremony. [4] [18] The first such Open House weekends were held Friday and Saturday, November 9–10 and 16-17, 1962. Admission is free (donations requested). [1] [2] [17]
The Club hosts two O-scale-only "Swap Meets" a year, usually on a single first Saturday in both March and October. [19] Admission to the Dealer's Hall is set at $5, and includes a tour of the layout. No meet has been scheduled for 2017.
Club membership is open to everyone over the age of 18. Annual dues is $150.00 and new members have a six-month probation period.
Railway modelling or model railroading is a hobby in which rail transport systems are modelled at a reduced scale.
Merchantville is a borough in Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 3,820, a decrease of one person from the 2010 census count of 3,821, which in turn reflected an increase of 20 (+0.5%) from the 3,801 counted in the 2000 census.
Pennsauken Township is a township in Camden County, in the Philadelphia Metropolitan Area in the U.S. state of New Jersey, and it is located outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which it borders directly on the Delaware River. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 37,074, an increase of 1,189 (+3.3%) from the 2010 census count of 35,885, which in turn increased by 148 (+0.4%) from the 35,737 counted in the 2000 census.
O scale is a scale commonly used for toy trains and rail transport modelling. Introduced by German toy manufacturer Märklin around 1900, by the 1930s three-rail alternating current O gauge was the most common model railroad scale in the United States and remained so until the early 1960s. In Europe, its popularity declined before World War II due to the introduction of smaller scales.
N scale is a popular model railway scale. Depending upon the manufacturer, the scale ranges from 1:148 to 1:160. Effectively the scale is 1:159, 9 mm to 1,435 mm, which is the width of standard gauge railway. However the scale may vary to simulate wide or narrow gauge rail. In all cases, the gauge is 9 mm or 0.354 in. The term N gauge refers to the track dimensions, but in the United Kingdom in particular British N gauge refers to a 1:148 scale with 1:160 track gauge modelling. The terms N scale and N gauge are often inaccurately used interchangeably, as scale is defined as ratio or proportion of the model, and gauge only as a distance between rails. The scale 1:148 defines the rail-to-rail gauge equal to 9 mm exactly, so when calculating the rail or track use 1:160 and for engines and car wheel base use 1:148.
A toy train is a toy that represents a train. It is distinguished from a model train by an emphasis on low cost and durability, rather than scale modeling. A toy train can be as simple as a toy that can run on a track, or it might be operated by electricity, clockwork or live steam. It is typically constructed from wood, plastic or metal. Many of today's steam trains might be considered as real ones as well, providing they are not strictly scale or not enough detailed ones in favor of a robustness appropriate for children or an inexpensive production.
Frank Cararas Ellison was an American model railroader who created the famous O scale Delta Lines model railroad in New Orleans, Louisiana and authored numerous articles from the 1930s to the 1950s. Mr. Ellison died after a brief illness, at midnight, at Our Lady of The Lake hospital in Baton Rouge.
Trenton Transit Center is the main passenger train station in Trenton, New Jersey. It is the southernmost stop in New Jersey on the Northeast Corridor. It is the terminus for NJ Transit trains to and from New York City and SEPTA Trenton Line Regional Rail trains to and from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and an intermediate station for Amtrak trains traveling between the two cities along the Northeast Corridor.
On30gauge is the modelling of narrow gauge railways in O scale on HO gauge track in 1:48 scale ratio by American and Australian model railroaders, in 1:43.5 scale ratio by British and French model railroaders and 1:45 by Continental European model railroaders.
Philadelphia's Baltimore and Ohio Railroad station – also known as the B & O station or Chestnut Street station – was the main passenger station for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Designed by architect Frank Furness in 1886, it stood at 24th Street and the Chestnut Street Bridge from 1888 to 1963.
Pennsauken High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school in Pennsauken Township, Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, serving students in ninth through twelfth grades as the lone secondary school of the Pennsauken Public Schools.
The Merchantville School District is a community public school district that serves students in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade from Merchantville, in Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.
Haddon Heights Junior/Senior High School, previously known as Haddon Heights High School (HHHS), is a six-year comprehensive public middle school / high school that serves students in seventh through twelfth grades from Haddon Heights, in Camden County, in New Jersey, operating as part of the Haddon Heights School District. The school also serves students from the neighboring communities of Barrington, Lawnside and Merchantville, who attend the high school for grades 9–12 as part of sending/receiving relationships.
The San Diego Model Railroad Museum is a model railroad museum in San Diego, California. It was founded in 1982. The museum is located on the lower level of Casa de Balboa on the Prado in Balboa Park.
The Texas Transportation Museum (TTM) is a transportation museum located in San Antonio, Texas.
On2 gauge is part of the hobby of rail transport modeling. The name is based on the common USA model railroad O scale of 1:48 and refers to the gauge between the rails and the fact that it is narrow gauge, thus 'On2'.
The Atlantic City Railroad was a Philadelphia and Reading Railway subsidiary that became part of Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines in 1933. At the end of 1925, it operated 161 miles (259 km) of road on 318 miles (512 km) of track; that year it reported 43 million ton-miles of revenue freight and 204 million passenger-miles.
The Cooper River is a tributary of the Delaware River in southwestern New Jersey in the United States.
Merchantville High School was a four-year public high school that operated from 1929 until 1972 in Merchantville, in Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, operating as part of the Merchantville School District.