American Railroading Museum - taking you back to your childhood

Hamley’s of London used to have a wonderful train system placed right across the central section of the world famous toy store. On many occasions over the past few decades, I used to stand and just admire its intricate railroad system with the numerous carriages and accoutrement's which go with a rail system. Its where i got my Triang train set at a young age. Regrettably as people’s interests change, the display got smaller and smaller, till in 2014, it no longer exists. However, I was in for a real big surprise when I went to the American Rail Roading Museum in Cincinnati.

Like most American displays, it is VAST. The 25,000 sq ft train layout was constructed by 130 volunteers headed by the Greater Cincinnati Garden Railway Society. The basic scenery consists of sprayed on polyurethane foam that was carved and painted. All the buildings, bridges, other structures, trees, and the zillion other scenic details were built by the volunteers themselves from scratch!! Awesome does not describe the feeling when you walk around the whole display. There are thousands of miniature people painstakingly modified and painted. Over 60,000 man hours have been spent so far. And this was just the beginning ... there is always some work going on. 

There is wonderfully explained map of the whole display. Basically it takes you through the different scenarios where the rail networks went. It also shows you the origins of how each type of the railway system evolved right from the times of the Civil War. 

Beginning with saw mills which were located near forests supplied saw logs turned later into finished lumber for construction or other uses – furniture, floorings, staves, shingles etc.

In the Civil war section, you see examples of supply bases. There is a large trestle based on the one running over Potomac Creek which had been built by the Union troops in 1862. You see the charred timbers of the original one burnt by the rebels. This replacement structure was completed in just 9 days using whatever material was available.

One aspect which strikes the viewer is the numerous bridges. There are over 100 bridges and trestles on display. Each has been custom built after painstaking research on the original version.

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Railway stations were built on the property of landowners and hence the station got its name. Here in the display, this station is named Baxter, after the volunteer who made all the structures incl. the water tank and the two depots!!

Like any where else, railroads needed their own repair shops to repair locomotives and rolling stock. Many companies built their own locos and stock. Hence each facility had foundries, blacksmiths, machine shops, boiler shops, and paint and carpentry areas. Hence they also spawned communities near the facilities. 

In the early 1800’s canals were primarily used for cross country transportation. These were expensive to build and difficult to maintain. Many rail lines were in fact built on the towpaths of canals when waterways ceased operations

When trains had to cross navigable streams, drawbridges and swing bridges were used for safe passage of boats. There is a bridge patterned after the one over Harlem River in New York, late 1800’s. The counterbalanced bridge was aside and lowered using a steam winch. There was also a bridge tender 24x7.  



Museum Volunteer Peter Villareal who created this bridge individually pre-drilled holes and inserted 4,200 nail pins to represent rivets. Do you have that sort of patience ??




Railroads had their own repair facilities for locos and rolling stock. They made their own replacement parts. Hence foundries, blacksmiths, carpenters, boiler shops and related occupations all congregated together.   This led to development of townships , gradually. 

How did railroads staff signal to each other? Various methods were used. In the early days, one method was the raising and lowering of  brightly painted coloured balls. (by day) and lanterns (by night). A lowered ball indicated the train should stop. The raised ball meant track was clear and proceed - hence the expression "high ball"! 

The town of River Bend was established with riverboats being the main form of transport. When the railroad arrived, it benefited it added benefit to the town. 

This set of tracks is called a"switchback" - used in hilly terrain. they allowed gaining altitude over short distances avoiding loops, bridges etc. the train just ran back and forth. 

I loved the series of visuals of the logging railroad from the 1880's to 1950's. Steam locos had their cylinders directly connected to the drive wheels by rods. these locos were called "rod engines". Whilst having speed, they could not tackle curves or be flexible in dealing with rough track, heavy loads or steep grades. So, the railroads created special geared locos with gear drives which gave the power and flexibility. 

Street cars ran on rails laid in streets of cities and large towns. Typically American is the word "inter-urban" which were like street cars which went from city to city, apart from running through the city streets!! Primarily passengers but some freight too. The electric cars got their power from overhead cables. By the time cars and paved roads arrived, this spelt the demise of this form of transport in the 1930's. However a line does run in Chicago between Chicago and South Bend.   

I am not going to give more details on this museum as there are far too many sections - technical areas, coal mining trains, urban trains, types of rolling stock, types of engines and how they were designed, the different types of passenger cars and passengers over the ages!! So, just enjoy the photographs of the museum. 

This scene shows the typical American city at the peak of the railroads. Business areas are on the higher ground and industry located at lower levels. Labour from the city and the railroad brought in raw materials and took out finished products. 

Details of the engine above 

Just look at the detailing here. 

and these are the famous Americans who still love the model railroads - reminiscences of their childhood!! 

and finally a few facts of this amazing museum . Hope you liked the blog. 

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