50th Anniversary of the Model Railroad Club of New Jersey
MRA EditorsDescription
Paul offered for them to use his space and layout temporarily. Temporarily turned out to be 22 years. He then suggested to combine two different clubs. They made a sketch of what the layout could look like. Looking at the sketch now, it is almost exactly what was sketched. This is Paul’s baby, no question about that, he says. After leaving the Summit area for a while, Paul later returned for the club. It was great for him to return, though he did find that he was a bit slower after being gone for so long. He jokes that the club members won’t let him pick up heavy weights anymore.
Paul has written a number of books on the hobby, from track laying and track planning, wiring, to operations. His favorite is his book on bridges and trestles. There are a few he didn’t even bother to put into second editions. He has written about 300 magazine articles if he counts columns for the Model Railroader and the National Model Railroad Association. Allen Keller considers him one of the pioneers of the hobby, and Paul admits he has a few plaques on the wall to remind him of that if he ever has doubts.
How did Paul get interested in the hobby? He was born with it. Some of his first memories recall him watching trains. What was the hobby like when he started the club 50 years ago? He can’t really say that the hobby existed because there were very few people building anything. Watch the video to hear Paul further reminisce.
Paul, this is the 50th anniversary of the club. How did it get started in your basement? Well, it started because four of us were trying to form a club in the Summit area, and we couldn't find space. So I would at that time, had started building, this basically the same layout we've got here, but much smaller. And I offered to let him use my space.
And my layout temporarily. Temporarily turned out to be 22 years. And then you moved out of the area and then the club had to get out. No, no, the club got out before I left. They, as soon as soon as the Waichin Valley was about to lose its quarters, I suggested to them if they wanted to carry the ball, that we could combine their club and ours and really make a big thing, and a made a sketch of, it turned out my crystal ball was really working.
If you look at that sketch, it's pretty much what we got. That must be a great feeling of satisfaction. Well, this is my baby, I, there's no question about that. When and why did you return to the area after you left and - For the weather. Did you miss the club?
For the weather? Sure. I was in Arizona and... No, actually for the club. You did, just to come back to be with the club.
Yeah. What was it like to come back after being away for so long? Wonderful. I mean, how did you fit back in, and you were the guy that got the whole thing going. Well, that took a little bit.
Actually, I'm kind of slow now, these guys go don't let me pick up heavy weights anymore. It's pretty good. You've written a number of books on the hobby. Track laying, track planning, wiring operations. Any other books that you've done, Paul?
Well, my favorite is my bridge and trestle. Bridge and Trestle. Yeah, and I've got a few that I never bothered to put into second editions. How many magazine articles have you written, would you - About 300. If you count all of them, like columns for the Model Railroader and for the NMRA.
I don't know. You lost track. , I , who cares? Well, yeah, I know, but I have to ask you these questions. People want to know.
Your fans out there want to know. Well, but I don't. You are so admired in the hobby. You were like John Allen and John Armstrong when you talk about Paul Mallery. You obviously know that.
I mean, I don't mean to put you on the spot. Well I got a couple of plaques on the wall. But you're in the Pantheon of a model railroad pioneers. Yeah, I got a couple of plaques on the wall, so that if I doubt it, I can look at them. How did you get interested in the hobby?
I was born with it. Literally? First things I can remember is, we lived on the water on East River Drive, and the West side freight line is right down the bottom. And I'd always be out there looking down, watching the trains. Yeah.
Yeah, when I was in kindergarten. What was the hobby like in the days when you started the club 50 years ago? Well, I guess you could, you can't really say that the hobby existed because there were very, very few people building anything. I count my start out in model railroading proper when I started to try to build, didn't succeed, a scratch built locomotive, that was 1930. But I think that we goofed by when they jumped to from six to 12 volts.
I wrote everybody I knew, including Hal Kalmbach, we should go to 24. And he wrote back and said, "Well, the model railroad has too many, too many storage batteries." I said, I'm not going to use storage batteries. We're going to use selenium rectifiers. And a selenium rectifier really made a tremendous difference. And of course the motors are doing a lot less current now, so that the the voltage drops are not severe as they were before.
As one of the hobby's pioneers, how have you incorporated what you know about the hobby into this layout? This is essentially the layout you envisioned years ago. How much of my ideas did I incorporate? Every one that I could, that people would let me do. That they'd let you do.
Has it all become what you wanted? That is, the club the layout, it's become what you want it to be? The way the club is operating and so forth. I think it exceeded my expectations. Scott, has the club developed standards for engines and rolling stock over the years.
Yes, we have. It's absolutely essential to a good operation that you have good standards in both your track and your rolling stock. And you try to enforce those? No piece of a rolling stock or no engine gets on the layout until it's thoroughly inspected. It has to, a wheel gauge has to be checked.
Weight has to be checked. Coupler height has to be checked. And there is a series of inspectors who inspect all the rolling stock - You've got your car inspectors! We have car inspectors, yeah. And if anything happens to the car after it's been inspected on the layout it goes right back down to the car inspector's desk, it's repaired, and then after it passes yet another inspection, it's brought back.
Wow. Is most of the equipment ready to run plastic? Most of it is. There is some brass pieces, but most of it is a ready to run plastic. There's a lot of good products out there nowadays and you can get some pretty good results from them.
On the layout this size, and of course the expanded layout, you've got a lot of scenery to do. What materials do you favor? We've actually used just about every technique. We've used the hard shell technique, the screen wire technique, the styrofoam technique for rocks. We've used rock carvings, rock molds.
We've used cut up wood chips. Whatever happens to work and also, it depends a lot on which particular member was working on that section. He did with works with the methods he was most familiar But it all blends together. You don't really notice that it's different material. Yeah, there's, there's lots of good ways to do scenery, and I think each situation you try to pick the method that's best for that particular location.
Now, trees can take a long time and cost a lot of money for a layout this size. And you're modeling the Eastern part of the United States, and you require a lot of trees. What do you do for that? Well, we've used in the past commercial purchased trees. We've also used bushes that we've covered with poly fiber.
Recently, we've embarked on a program to reforest the entire layout using the new super tree product from scenic express.
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