On Wednesday, June 13th, 25 children aged 7 to 11 visited CentraMod to learn about modeling and running trains. They visited on the second day of a three day “Train Camp” experience that was offered through the Temple Railroad and Heritage Museum.
As the children arrived at the CentraMod club house, there were divided into small groups named after historical named passenger trains. These group names were the The Scout, The Texas Chief, The Super Chief, The Texas Special, The Daylight, The Southern Belle, and The Texas Eagle. They were also given a timetable to control their movements between various activites during their stay at CentraMod.
Camp Timetable
Over the course of their time with CentraMod, they:
Operated trains on the N, HO, and O scale layouts
Watched a video on model railroading
Learned how to model rocks with plaster castings and made a model tree
Learned how to apply roadbed and lay model track
Learned how to apply model grass and ground cover
Combined all of these new skills into a finished 4.5” x 6” N scale model/module
Great module built!
As CentraMod’s 2007 Train Camp wrapped up, the children left with their completed modules and a care package prepared by club members:
A model railroad magazine
A flyer for CentraMod’s 25th Annual Model Train Show this September
An application for CentraMod membership
A N Scale car donated by club member Ron Miller
An authentic railroad tie date nail donated by club member Michael Ross
The module they built today with the skills learned above
On Wednesday, June 13th, 25 children aged 7 to 11 visited CentraMod to learn about modeling and running trains. They visited on the second day of a three day Train Camp experience that was offered through the Temple Railroad and Heritage Museum.
As the children arrived at the CentraMod club house, there were divided into small groups named after historical named passenger trains. These group names were the The Scout, The Texas Chief, The Super Chief, The Texas Special, The Daylight, The Southern Belle, and The Texas Eagle. They were also given a timetable to control their movements between various activites during their stay at CentraMod.
Camp Timetable
Each of the logos below was the drumhead for the corresponding named train. The sign was a sign posted on the rear of passenger trains. It consisted of a fully-enclosed box with lights inside that would illuminate a tinted panel showing the logo of the railroad or specific train. Since the box and the sign were usually circular in shape, they resembled small drums. This is how they came to be known as drumheads.
THE SCOUT
The Scout was one of the named passenger trains of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. It was initially assigned train Nos. 1 (westbound) & 10 (eastbound), and its route ran from Chicago, Illinois to Los Angeles, California. The Scout made its last run on June 7, 1948.
THE TEXAS CHIEF
The original Texas Chief was inaugurated as a coach and Pullman train in 1939 and ran until the end of Santa Fe passenger operations on May 1, 1971. The Texas Chief’s route ran from Chicago, Illinois, to Galveston, Texas with a section cutting off near Denton, Texas, and heading to Dallas, Texas.
THE SUPER CHIEF
The Super Chief was one of the named passenger trains and flagship of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. Inaugurated in 1935, it was a first class sleeping car only train. It was often referred to as “The Train of the Stars” because of the many celebrities who traveled on the streamliner between Chicago, Illinois and Los Angeles, California. The train continued in service until the end of Santa Fe passenger operations on May 1, 1971.
Kato USA has produced cars and diesel locomotives which can be used to model the Super Chief in N Scale.
THE TEXAS SPECIAL
The Missouri – Kansas -Texas “Katy” Texas Special made its first run in 1915. In 1947, it was upgraded to a diesel-electric powered streamliner train. It was jointly operated with the Frisco until 1964 and served St. Louis, Dallas, Ft. Worth, and San Antonio.
THE DAYLIGHT
The Daylight was a passenger train originally run by the Southern Pacific between Los Angeles and San Francisco, California. Many have said it was the most beautiful passenger train in the world with a stunning red, orange, and black color scheme. The Coast Daylight had its inaugural run on March 1, 1937. The train continued to run until 1971 when Amtrak took over passenger service.
THE SOUTHERN BELLE
The Southern Belle was a named passenger train service offered by Kansas City Southern Railway from the 1940s through the 1960s. It ran between Kansas City, Missouri and New Orleans, Louisiana. The last run of the Southern Belle was on November 2, 1969.
THE TEXAS EAGLE
The Missouri Pacific Railroad and Texas and Pacific Railway train of the same name was inaugurated August 15, 1948. It is now operated by Amtrak and serves the central and western United States.
The Temple Railroad and Heritage Museum will host author Dr. J. Parker Lamb for a book signing event at the museum Saturday, August 11th, from 2:00PM to 4:00PM. Dr. Lamb will be signing his latest book, Evolution of the American Diesel Locomotive (Railroads Past and Present).
The museum is also hosting a “luncheon with the author” from 12:00 noon. Reservations are required and are $10.00 per person. Call 254-773-4759 to make your luncheon reservations.
CentraMod will be open from 1:00PM to 4:00PM in conjunction with this luncheon and book signing event.
About the Author
J. PARKER LAMB, Ph.D., P.E., is Professor Emeritus at The University of Texas at Austin’s Mechanical Engineering Department. He has served on the College of Engineering faculty since 1963 in many different capacities.
He has been photographing trains since the fall of 1949. His life and career have taken him throughout the Deep South and on to Ohio, Illinois, North Carolina, and finally Texas.
You can see some of J. Parker Lamb’s photography in the Winter 2000 issue of Classic Trains magazine.
Lamb’s goal is to “display railroad machinery within scenic compositions that cause people to respond with a comment such as, ‘Now, that photograph makes the train look beautiful!'”
CentraMod was surprised and honored to be visited by fellow model railroader Duane Gaddis of Booneville, Indiana on Wednesday, June 6th.
A retired telephone repairman, he had ridden his Harley Davidson, “Old Red” down from Indiana to attend this year’s NMRA Lone Star Region Annual Convention as he has done in years past. This year, he was lucky enough to find the club open for a work session and was able to take a tour.
Duane’s HO layout, The Northern Illinois-Southern Indiana Railroad, was featured over an 8-page spread in the April 1995 issue of Model Railroader magazine.
While Duane mentioned that he has cut back on some of his rolling stock, he does still conduct operating sessions with his friends. Even though his layout is 26 x 46 feet, he said it could get a bit crowded during sessions.
One of the most interesting aspects of his layout is that he designed it to allow for different railroads and eras. The overall generic midwestern feel looks right for whatever equipment he is running at the time. Most of the structures and track configuration are based on prototypes and were compressed to fit his available space.
Duane has modeled the following railroads:
Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe
Chicago & North Western
Chicago, Burlington & Quincy
Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific
Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific
Illinois Central
New York Central
He can set up to run in the 1950s, mid 1960s, or late 1970s/early 1980s.
When Duane saw CentraMod’s library, he commented on how valuable his own personal library of books and magazines helped him to build prototypically correct models. He said he has since donated more than 2,000 railroad and model railroading magazines to libraries in his area.
We are glad that Duane stopped by to say hello and check out the club and railfan the Burlington Northern Santa Fe mainline from the depot’s freight dock. As he said in his own words, “If you happen to be railfanning on some lonely stretch of the Santa Fe and spot a big red Harley and an oversized biker with a camera hung from his neck, please stop by and say hello.”
Be sure to check out the April 1995 issue of Model Railroader in the club library to see some great pictures of a beautiful layout.
Be sure to take a trip down to Burnet Texas on June 23 and 24th for the 2007 Texas Hill Country Railfair and Festival.
Hours & Admission
Saturday 9-5, Sunday 10-4. Adults $3, children under 10 free with each adult admission. Train ride tickets are sold separately at the fair.
This show has something for everyone:
Railroadiana and model railroad vendors
Railroad memorabilia museum
Displays of rail cars and equipment
Transportation, historical and preservation exhibits
Train rides twice daily at 10 a.m. and 2:45 p.m. on the Bertram Local with a photo run-by of the Hill Country Flyer at the restored Bertram depot
FREE railroad motorcar rides
This is also one of the rare occasions where you can also take the train to the train show!
The Hill Country Flyer offers daily round-trip service from Cedar Park to Burnet during the Texas Hill Country Railfair & Festival. Enjoy a three-hour layover at the Railfair in Burnet. Tickets start at $27 for adults. Hill Country Flyer and Bertram Local passengers receive admission to Railfair at no extra charge. For reservations, call the Austin Steam Train Association at (512) 477-8468.
