Western Railroad Discussion > High School railroad clubs?

Last night I was showing Mason my old high school year book from 1989 and although I was not a member, there was a railroad club. Was this an unusual club, or was it the norm back then? Any high school railroad clubs around these days?

UPDATE: I included a scan of the page.

Todd Clark
Canyon Country, CA
Trainorders.com

---

I haven't heard of one, but I sure wish there was a railroad club at my high school. That be pretty neat to have.

- John

John Crisanti
Longmont, CO

Never heard of them, but I was in HS between '99 and '03...

Mr. MRL

I belonged to a model railroad club during my high-school years (1964-67), but it wasn't affiliated with the high school. I suspect that one thing you'd need would be a willing and knowledgeable faculty advisor.

My high school in Western Springs/La Grange, IL (split campus) had a model railroad club. I was in high school during '95-'99.

Tom

webmaster Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Last night I was showing Mason my old high school
> year book from 1989 and although I was not a
> member, there was a railroad club. Was this an
> unusual club, or was it the norm back then? Any
> high school railroad clubs around these days?

Model railroads only, probably. Can't imagine anything else in former days or now. Could be wrong.

Mark

me and a couple former friends from high school used to cut our afternoon classes to go chase the WP Fs on Altamont. Does that count???

TOHS? Train Orders High School?

Regards,
Burlington John

I used to skip lunch with a couple of friends and head track side for 10-15 minutes each day. That's about as close to a "club" as we had in school.

Class of '61. Small school, about 160 in class, 400 in school.

I had heard of other H.S.'s having MRR clubs, and I floated an inquiry in our school paper about any possible interest.

No replies.

So. I joined Twin City Model Railroad Club instead.

http://www.tcmrm.org/photos.html

Jeff Belmonte did work for UP and out of West Colton.

Interesting topic. I never gave it much thought until now. A good friend of mine and myself formed a model railroad club at our local high school back in Aurora Illinois. We grew quickly to about twenty or so students and the school assigned us an adult sponsor who was a math instructor. Space was always at a premium at the school, and I recall getting shuffled around from one spare room to another until we settled down in a science lab office. The space allowed us to build a 5'x10' table layout which pretty much filled the room. We all applied and honed our skills in layout building, including hand laid track and switches and hard shell plaster scenery. We had to support ourselves financially and the school allowed us to work the school basketball and football games manning the concession stand. That modest income was spent at various local hobby shops, which extended us favorable discounts to purchase rails, ties, and ballast. The other material was acquired through charitable begging, which my friend and I openly used at local hardware stores, lumberyards and everywhere else that had something we needed. The club also enjoyed many field trips in and around the Chicagoland area, visiting and operating on the various real club layouts scattered around the area. Not to mention, countless railfanning opportunities along the BN raceway and all of the other railroads in and around Chicago. It was a great four years spent learning and enjoying both model railroading and railfanning. After graduating, we all went our separate ways, and even though none of those ways were into railroading at first, years later three of us have found successful careers as professional railroaders, and are still active modelers too!

zchcsse Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> My high school in Western Springs/La Grange, IL
> (split campus) had a model railroad club. I was
> in high school during '95-'99.
>

Was the layout still a fold-up (like a Murphy bed) in the basement at South Campus?

TAW
member 1963-1967



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/27/09 20:25 by TAW.

It was (hopefully is) at south campus, but was in a classroom.

TAW Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> zchcsse Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > My high school in Western Springs/La Grange, IL
> > (split campus) had a model railroad club. I
> was
> > in high school during '95-'99.
> >
>
> Was the layout still a fold-up (like a Murphy bed)
> in the basement at South Campus?
>
> TAW
> member 1963-1967

zchcsse Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> It was (hopefully is) at south campus, but was in
> a classroom.
>
> TAW Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > zchcsse Wrote:
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> > -----
> > > My high school in Western Springs/La Grange,
> IL
> > > (split campus) had a model railroad club. I
> > was
> > > in high school during '95-'99.
> > >
> >
> > Was the layout still a fold-up (like a Murphy
> bed)
> > in the basement at South Campus?
> >
> > TAW
> > member 1963-1967


Interesting. We scored a big empty room in the basement that had to be clear in case needed for tornado or air raid (We were still hiding from Russian nuclear attack back then. Apparently hiding under your desk was only good for A bombs and H bombs being nastier, you had to hide in the basement). It took a couple of years to negotiate that. Then it took a year to design the layout. A couple of the members designed a layout that was single level on a flat table that was something like 10x15 feet. It had to be single level in order to fold up into its case on the wall. The bottom of the framework was also paneled because it was the exposed part when folded up. The framework had to be stiff enough to not bend out of shape while being raised. I think the joists were 2x8 or 2x10. The hinge was a pipe, 2 inch or so, extending through the width of the table and resting on heavy lumber bearing supports. It was HEAVY. A mission for the 1967-1968 year was to figure out a better lifting system. We worked on the tablework for about a year and during the 1966-1967 year it was finally ready to begin laying track. If I remember correctly, we stuck down a ceremonial oval of snap track in order to say that we had finished the tablework and had actually begun track. I was club president in 66-67 and got to coordinate finishing table construction and the first few feet of track, then I was outta there to play in 1:1 scale. I think I have a picture somewhere.

We used to take a trip a few times a year that would be called railfanning nowadays. We'd get on the Q in La Grange then watch Union Station from Polk Street for a while, walk over to Grand Central and watch from Polk Street, then spend some time back and forth on 12th Str...er, uh Roosevelt moving between Union and Grand Central and La Salle and Dearborn stations, then walk down Clark and hang out at 16th for a while, then over to the Santa Fe RH on 18th, then hang out at 21st for awhile then walk back and catch a Q train home. I used an official guide to develop an all stations timetable for the territory between the stations and 21st Street so that we could be in position to see trains taht we were particularly interested in. We had a faculty sponsor, but mostly in name only. One of the seniors ran the trips downtown. I have some pictures from those days too. We probably saw more trains in one day than a lot of people see in a year.

TAW

That's some wonderful history of how things were about 30 years before my time! Thanks! How old was south campus then? It must have been fairly new. Also, about where did you live then? I grew up in the "Springdale" section of Western Springs which is immediately south of south campus (51st St. for me). It was a nice short walk my frosh/soph years but I had to take the bus to north campus my junior year (and hitched a ride with my girlfriend senior year).

As general info for others reading, our north campus is located next to the now BNSF Racetrack in La Grange and it's amazing students don't get run over all the time crossing the tracks to get to/from school, especially in the morning as the morning Metra commuter rush is still in full swing then.



TAW Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> zchcsse Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > It was (hopefully is) at south campus, but was
> in
> > a classroom.
> >
> > TAW Wrote:
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> > -----
> > > zchcsse Wrote:
> > >
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> >
> > > -----
> > > > My high school in Western Springs/La
> Grange,
> > IL
> > > > (split campus) had a model railroad club.
> I
> > > was
> > > > in high school during '95-'99.
> > > >
> > >
> > > Was the layout still a fold-up (like a Murphy
> > bed)
> > > in the basement at South Campus?
> > >
> > > TAW
> > > member 1963-1967
>
>
> Interesting. We scored a big empty room in the
> basement that had to be clear in case needed for
> tornado or air raid (We were still hiding from
> Russian nuclear attack back then. Apparently
> hiding under your desk was only good for A bombs
> and H bombs being nastier, you had to hide in the
> basement). It took a couple of years to negotiate
> that. Then it took a year to design the layout. A
> couple of the members designed a layout that was
> single level on a flat table that was something
> like 10x15 feet. It had to be single level in
> order to fold up into its case on the wall. The
> bottom of the framework was also paneled because
> it was the exposed part when folded up. The
> framework had to be stiff enough to not bend out
> of shape while being raised. I think the joists
> were 2x8 or 2x10. The hinge was a pipe, 2 inch or
> so, extending through the width of the table and
> resting on heavy lumber bearing supports. It was
> HEAVY. A mission for the 1967-1968 year was to
> figure out a better lifting system. We worked on
> the tablework for about a year and during the
> 1966-1967 year it was finally ready to begin
> laying track. If I remember correctly, we stuck
> down a ceremonial oval of snap track in order to
> say that we had finished the tablework and had
> actually begun track. I was club president in
> 66-67 and got to coordinate finishing table
> construction and the first few feet of track, then
> I was outta there to play in 1:1 scale. I think I
> have a picture somewhere.
>
> We used to take a trip a few times a year that
> would be called railfanning nowadays. We'd get on
> the Q in La Grange then watch Union Station from
> Polk Street for a while, walk over to Grand
> Central and watch from Polk Street, then spend
> some time back and forth on 12th Str...er, uh
> Roosevelt moving between Union and Grand Central
> and La Salle and Dearborn stations, then walk down
> Clark and hang out at 16th for a while, then over
> to the Santa Fe RH on 18th, then hang out at 21st
> for awhile then walk back and catch a Q train
> home. I used an official guide to develop an all
> stations timetable for the territory between the
> stations and 21st Street so that we could be in
> position to see trains taht we were particularly
> interested in. We had a faculty sponsor, but
> mostly in name only. One of the seniors ran the
> trips downtown. I have some pictures from those
> days too. We probably saw more trains in one day
> than a lot of people see in a year.
>
> TAW

None in Carlsbad Ca class of 96 but we did have Surf P.E. yes go to beach----Surf-------get an A+
D

Not really, the high school I went to, Riordan High School here in San Francisco there was a model RR club there.

"it's amazing students didn't get run over all the time...." This quote says a lot about the times. When I was a kid, I took the train to school. Redwood City (CA) to Mountain View as a student at St. Francis High School. Hung out of vestibules (no dutch doors). In the afternoons, waiting for our trains (both north and southbound), we hung by the tracks for quite some time. We walked the rails, stood close to passing freights, strung metal strapping between rails to make the gates go down, etc. There were no fences between tracks, no yellow safety zones, sometimes barely a platform to stand on. Surprisingly, none were 'run over'.

When us old people say "things have sure changed since I was a kid", there must be something to it. I wonder what it is that has changed. Common sense? Personal responsibility? Lawyers? Yeah, it must be the lawyers.

Ed

No high school railroad clubs but I was a railroad Explorer Scout!