History

            Bob Latham built the house where the model railroad is located in the early 50’s and founded the club in 1964.  Bob wanted to be able to put on annual shows to benefit local emergency services, so he contacted members of the NMRA in the area to help.  He was interested in the Southern Pacific and reversed the words to Pacific Southern.

 

The club became active year-round, and rebuilt and improved the railroad during the ‘60s and ‘70s.  The railroad was the subject of feature articles in the September 1974 Railroad Model Craftsman and the November 1983 Model Railroader.  Following Bob’s death in 1988, his heirs permitted the club to continue in operation.  Geoff Green, a charter member of the club, bought the house in late 1991.  An addition was built in 1994 to improve access to the basement, the railroad was enlarged into the additional space, and a trolley line was added.

 

During the past few years the original part of the basement was renovated to match the addition.  This involved various house repairs and the installation of gypsum-board walls.  Some trackage and scenery alterations were made and new lighting provided.  Our most recent improvement is conversion to DCC operation, with wireless cabs.

 

Most of the structures from the original layout are still in place, but many need repair, renovation or replacement.  Scenery is also an ongoing project.

 

Locale and Era

 

            The name Pacific Southern suggests a railroad in the West or Southwest.  However, current members are mainly interested in railroads of the eastern U.S.  Some members favor 40’s and 50’s motive power and rolling stock, others contemporary equipment and still others something in between.  To have a locale and era in mind when installing and renovating scenery and structures, we consider the Pacific Southern to be an eastern Class I railroad operating significant freight and passenger traffic during the 1950s using both steam and diesel locomotives.  We rely on modeler’s license to accommodate equipment from other locales and eras.

 

Trains

 

            The trains are owned by the members, and represent their wide-ranging interests.  We operate both steam and diesel equipment.  We had tended to use diesels almost exclusively, but with the advent of DCC, sound, and improved steam-locomotive models we regularly use both steam and diesel.  Because of our wide radius curves and long distances, we can operate fairly long trains, such as 100-car coal trains and 15-car passenger trains.  We emphasize reliable operation and reasonably accurate appearance of trains and use rolling-stock standards to make sure everything is roadworthy.

 

Control

 

            The control system was a modified form of cab control with cabs operated remotely from “tower” panels where operators sat.  There were several wireless cabs for walk-around operation.  Operators used a telephone system to pass trains from tower to tower and to contact the dispatcher, who sat (and still sits) in a special booth.  Now that DCC has been installed, we need only three or four tower operators, plus the dispatcher.  The rest of the operators can be walk-around engineers or brakemen.  A computer system controls signals and interlockings and displays information to the dispatcher about the location and identity of trains.  The dispatcher now controls switches and signals on much of the layout.      

 

Waybills and Operation

 

            We use computer-generated waybills to move cars among local industries and off-line interchange freights.  Our waybill cycle usually takes four or five operating sessions to complete.

 

Our mode of operation depends on how many members show up for an operating session.   Sometimes we combine waybill operation with running passenger and other freight trains.  Other times we just run trains or just do waybills.  The use of DCC has given us much more flexibility in how we can operate, and how many members we can accommodate.

 

Shows

 

            From the time the club was founded in 1964 until 2002 we held a show each year.  Most of the proceeds were donated to the fire department and rescue squad of Rocky Hill, NJ.  Because the layout is in a private home on a busy street, we needed to use a parking lot about a quarter-mile away.  The members of the fire department and rescue squad took charge of parking, selling tickets, and transporting visitors to and from the house.  Our show schedule lasted about 35 minutes, and we ran shows hourly to give time to get people in and out.  We ran up to seven shows daily during the first two weekends of December. However, when we started our recent renovations, we decided to discontinue the shows.  Attendance had been falling off and it would have been difficult to do both at the same time.  We are considering having shows again, but in a different form.

 

March 2011