Modeling the NY City Transit "EL" Lines

[NYC Transit Modeler]

Hello members.

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NOTE: On July 8, 2018 - this THREAD has been UPGRADED and improved with new photos added and any of those "removed" have been restored where missing !!

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I am a new member here and am showing some NIGHT scenes shot on my large O-Scale 2 Rail NY City Elevated Line system. The EL structures, EL stations, trackage, buildings, streetlights, are all scratchbuilt. Most of my prewar IRT and BMT wooden EL Cars and steel IRT Subway cars are scratchbuilt with full interiors. Here are a few scenes showing my postwar IRT R-Type class Subway cars on the EL.

Anyone else here model rapid transit, or trolleys-traction, for any city, in any scales?

Regards - Joe F

 

[MGWSY]

Very Nice!

 

[enjineerbill]

Very nice indeed. Really captures the 'feel' of it.

 

[Gary B]

Very nice Joe. I love the urban feel. I have a short section in progress of El line turning into streetcar tracks. Its HO and Chicago based. Unfortunately the market is not served by the manufacturers for trains. Would love to see more of yours

 

[NYSW F45]

Awesome! Would love to see some daylight shots of this EL stuff. What did you use to similate the 3rd rail?

 

[NYC Transit Modeler]

Hello Engineer Bill --- and Gary B

Bill - thanks - "captures the feel" is a great way of putting it and I agree. I am the biggest critic of my work and really endeavor to in fact "catch the feel" as I well remember the NY transit lines both day and night, riding and photographing the real lines since the early 1950's in NYC thru the late 1980's. Glad you liked them.

Check other forums here for a few more photos I posted
- look for my handle name "NYC Transit Modeler"

Gary B -- very nice looking Elevated station and trackwork. You have replicated the look of CTA EL trackage there

I built a 38 foot x 8 foot HO Scale NYC EL layout starting small (4'x8') back in 1964 and it gradually grew in modular sections to that huge later size up to and by 1984, at which time when I switched to O SCALE. Still have the modular-sections-built HO EL system in storage with some modules set up on display.

I own and run (for 12 years now) the "NYC Transit Modelers Group" , a large very active Forum, and one of my members scratch built a beautiful modular quite long around the room shelf O-Scale layout of the CTA EL (or "L", heh) using MTH Chicago Subway cars. We branched out over the years to modelers of all big and small city traction & transit venues, in all scales (N. HO, S, O and 1/2" scales)

Well, I will post some "daytime" photos for you guys so as to see all thats hidden in darkness in the night scenes.

I'll call these "Station scenes along the EL", featuring as follows :

BELOW - IRT Low V class (Low Voltage Controllers) steel Subway Train enters express station center island platform;

BELOW - Rear car of an IRT Hi-V GIBBS class (High-Voltage Controllers) steel subway train leaving a local station;

BELOW - Rear car of an IRT Q-Type wooden EL train departs local station as an IRT MUDC class wooden EL express approaches on center track;

BELOW - Rear car of an IRT MUDC class wooden EL Local train seen at local station platform view from rooftop

I'll post some street level scenes on next message.

Thanks for the interest, guys !

regards - Joe F

 

[NYC Transit Modeler]

Hello guys again -

Here are just two of countless street scenes along and under the, my O Scale "EL".. I do many scenes in the B&W print format as that is what we (railfans) used predominately as film back in the old days of the 1950's-60's for transit photography- so the B&W format attempts to capture the look and feel of the period as captured in so many prototype photos of the real EL's taken back then!

Hope you also enjoy these two BELOW!

 

[NYC Transit Modeler]

Hello Guys -

For those who may be interested, a few more various scenes --

BELOW - a shot of one of my Elevated Switch Tower houses viewed from street level,

BELOW - Note the "sunlight" created shadow patterns on the cobblestone streets and trolley tracks cast by the overhead EL tracks and Elevated structure work....just as is done under the real NYC EL's !

BELOW - a rooftop view down to the street and a curve in the EL mainline, with an express train of IRT Hi-Voltage (Hi-V) controller cars entering the center express track. Two Third Ave. Railway System streetcars are on the street below, and seen isan IRT subway station entrance sidewalk KIOSK.

BELOW - In case you wondered about my paving - A close view of my self-created cobblestone streets between my hand-crafted streetcar "trolley girder-type-rail" track. The streetcars run under live overhead wire.

regards - Joe F

 

[Gary B]

Thanks Joe, that's what I was aiming for. It's just a shelf that I need to build the supports under. Your work is miles ahead of mine. Great picture!

 

[NYC Transit Modeler]

Hello Steve -

The O Scale EL layout's 3rd rail is actually following the old IRT Manhattan "EL" style 3rd rail - higher and closer to running rails (like Chicago CTA style uses also) - and protypical using a smaller code profile than running rail, standard rail profile as per prototype, for it. It uses HO Code 100 NS rail. Its actually WORKING and wired live 3rd rail...with ON-OFF cutout switches for each track - tho ALL my EL & Subway cars run in 2-rail mode only. I have had two O Scalers run their operating 3rd rail equipped transit cars run on my EL using my 3rd rail. They created their own working sprung shoes - but operation isn't as electrically smooth and fluent as using straight 2 rail operation mode.

Here are some close up photo views of my 3rd rails and the prototype-scale 3rd rail shoes on my cars. My EL Car "drop-sled" style and subway "Paddle style" 3rd rail shoes ride a hair above (and at times ride, slide, on) my 3rd rails, but ONLY with the 3rd rail powering sources SWITCHED OFF as my prototype-scale but dummy shoes are NOT insulated from their metal trucks or wheelsets. The shoes being INSULATED is a necessity when powering via 3rd rail shoes ON THE RAIL only...in both the Model AND PROTOTYPE cars.

BELOW - Scale Subway style PADDLE type 3rd Rail shoe on my EL

BELOW - Scale Subway style PADDLE type 3rd Rail shoe on my EL

BELOW - Scale Drop-Sled "Elevated" style 3rd Rail shoe on my EL

BELOW - Scale Subway style PADDLE type 3rd Rail shoe on my EL

regards - Joe F

 

[montanan]

Thats some awsome work. How large is the layout ??

 

[NYC Transit Modeler]

Hello Montanaman

The entire length of the EL Layout is just under 40 feet long and about 7 feet wide. The Elevated Structure portions have a two track trolley line on the avenue below the EL structures. The entire layout system is built in MODULAR sectional format so it can be easily and fairly quickly separated into individual modules for moving. It was exhibited at many big Train Shows in the S.E. Penna. area between 1986 and 1990. Takes a 24 foot box straight truck to transport it all !

I have provided a color coded DRAWING on this thread, which shows the ELEVATED LINE trackage only.

The "legend" colors and graphics are as follows:

--The all-high-level-platform EL stations are shown in RED

--The Switch Tower Houses are shown as small GREEN Squares

--The Bumpers at track ends are shown as small BLACK Squares

--The Buildings on the sidewalks along the EL are all shown in BROWN

--A high level work train materials-loading platform and shed on it in one of the yards (on Module B) is shown in BLUE

--All the walking and aisle space around, and the operators aisle in center of, the layout, are shown in YELLOW

--Modules number 1 and 2 are existing and attached TROLLEY in STREET modules only (No "EL" above).

-- Yard and layup modules are raised embankment type ballasted modules and are lettered A, B, F at the left end, and D, E, G at the right end. Modules A & B -- and D and E have 2 track, center island platform terminal EL stations on them. All yard trackage is level to and with the adjacent connected "EL" Line structure trackages.

-- Yard Module C is a planned to be constructed Elevated-Structure-supported 5 track yard now underway which will be connected to the two stub-end short layup tracks next to the ladder track on Module D.

-- The THREE long separate arrows show where the trolley lines can be extended out from under the above "EL", on separate existing trolley modules - mainly done so only in a larger room environment such as at train shows. Two Trolley in Street (with no overhead EL) modules, #'s 1 and 2, are shown attached already.

Around the train room on my white painted smooth concrete train room walls is a continuous shelf-supported HO Scale operating mainline railroad layout, along with higher-up wall to wall shelves storing both HO and O Scale train fleets.

Well, that should explain it all, along with the track plan and layout design image I provided.

Regards - Joe F

 

[montanan]

A really great looking and interesting plan. MORE PICTURES !! Please.

 

[NYC Transit Modeler]

Hello again Steve

I finally just got a chance to watch your entire You Tube VIDEO (Link you posted) of that fantastic huge Model RR layout. Is it HO or O Scale??. It appears HO, but I'm not certain.

I enjoyed watching the long passengr trains running. Tho I can run very long HO passenger trains on my around my 40' x 16' train room HO Scale "shelf" layout, I dont have all that GREAT scenery along the r-o-w as your club layout does ! I envy this kind of mainline railroad type modeling and related suburban and rural scenery, even tho I specialized mostly in "big city" scenes and rapid transit type layout modeling. Both formats require their own brand of intense and highly detailed, skilled modeling and scenic treatments !

Here are some scenes of just a few of my (300+) passenger cars on my HO Shelf Layout Railroad.

Regards - Joe F

 

[NYC Transit Modeler]

Hello again Montanan -

Well, here are some more photos of the "EL" layout. Well, heh, there doesn't seem to be much if any other interest in city transit-traction modeling in this 7500 member Forum site, however, as I seem to ascertain ! Not a surprise to me, as city and suburban traction & big-city rapid transit modeling is about only 8% of the whole model railroad hobby modeling in all scales !

Thanks for your and the few others here interest expressed so far !

As you requested, here are a few more scenes along the O-Scale 2-rail "EL". These images featuring some of my hand built BMT (Brooklyn Manhattan Transit Co) Wooden open end platform "gate" car EL trains and a BMT Q-Type

BELOW -- Rooftop view of BMT 1939-40 Worlds Fair BMT "Q" Type local train stopped at local station. Cars are painted in the 1939-40 N.Y. Worlds Fair Colors

BELOW - Train of BMT EL Open Platform Gate cars seen stopped at center island platform station on the EL

BELOW - Train of BMT EL Open Platform Gate cars seen stopped at local station platform on the EL

BELOW -- Street view up towards the EL as a Local train of BMT Open-End Platform Gate Cars passes by

Rooftop view to the EL with an approaching Local train of BMT wooden El Gate Cars shown in their as new 1901 colors and lettered for the earlier Brooklyn Rapid Transit predecessor company

BELOW -- 3 car train of BMT El Gate Cars lettered and painted as Brooklyn Rapid Transit in the earlier company name and colors from 1901 -- in layup on the center express track on the EL

BELOW -- View from the Avenue as a Local train of wooden BMT EL Gate Cars negotiates curve on the EL as a Brooklyn & Queens Transit (B&QT Co. - a BMT division) Trolley approaches away from the shadows of the El along with street traffic.

Regards - Joe F

 

[NYC Transit Modeler]

Montanan and others here:

As I (we) can only load 4 images per posting here, here are 4 more on this posting, of my BMT Wooden Gate-Car EL Trains seen along the "EL"...

Regards - Joe F

 

[Gary B]

Amazing! The modeling, the photograghy and the trains themselves. The kind of work I always dreamed of doing.

 

[NYC Transit Modeler]

Hello again Gary !

Thanks again for stopping by and for the much appreciated comments !

Here are some of my BMT (Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit) System STREETCAR scenes in the shadows of my EL - with my technique for replicating strong sunlight-shadow patters. I'll post 4 more images on the next message.

Regards - Joe F

 

[montanan]

Greayt Pictures. Keep thepictures coming. Do you have any pictutes showing the entire set up? looking at the track plan, it looks great.

 

[gregamer]

Wow! I love it. I like how the light shines through the tracks to the street below. Great work!