Railflanning the 1999 C&OHS conference

Chesapeake and Ohio Historical Magazine, Oct 1999 by Chapman, Bob

It had already been a great week of "railfun" prior to my arrival at the C&OHS Conference. I had attended Summerail's slides-plus-sound spectacular in Cincinnati

Union Terminal, heard a fine presentation by noted model railroad photographer Lou Sassi, railfanned the ex-L&N Muldraugh Hill, CSX's ruling grade southbound from Louisville, and accumulated throttle time on Kentucky Railway Museum's matched pair of Baldwins and ex-ATSF CF7.

This Conference would be special - the thirtieth anniversary of the first meeting of seven members convened in Huntington by Tom Dixon. The C&O was still alive, and side trips included a visit to the Huntington Shops with authorized removal of nameplates from white-lined surplus passenger cars, a walk across Limeville Bridge (don't try that today!), and a 4:00 a.m. photo session to capture #1 under Ashland's umbrella sheds. Who then would have guessed that in 1999 the C&OHS would be a vibrant organization 2,300 members strong!

On my early arrival at the registration table, Jim Hodde presented the first remembrance of the weekend - an attractive tote bag commemorating the anniversary in C&O script. In the dealer room completing his setup was Bill Harvey of NKP Car, proudly displaying a 1700-series Pere Marquette coach, a new addition to his impressive line of HO C&O lightweight passenger car models. Nearby, hobby shop proprietor Gordy Morgan busily arranged merchandise on his tables and revealed a surprise: Rivarossi will soon introduce a plastic Allegheny! Busily hauling boxes to the dozen C&OHS tables were Attila Zombor, Frank Bongiovanni, and Tom Dixon; their merchandise and "specials" would lighten many billfolds.

Following a lively dinner discussion with Jim and Ruth EuDaly and Bob Hundman (the Editor/Publisher of Mainline Modeler) was Frank Bongiovanni's leadoff presentation, "Philosophy, Science Fiction, and Model Railroading." Bongiovanni explained that a "good-enough" model railroad contains many compromises while minimizing those that don't make sense. A good free-lance railroad, for example, which is built on a strong premise (such as "suppose C&O remained independent into today's world") can be fun and offer shelter from nitpickers. Next, Russ Haas covered his fine Thurmond enginehouse model with slides from all angles (how many knew that Vodka makes a good paint thinner?), tips on how to accurately model C&O's AS-616s, and alternative plans for his 19'x39' HO layout covering Thurmond, Quinnimont, steel mills, coke ovens, logging, and Ashland. (Russ - the furnace and water heater gotta go!)

A trip back to the dealer room revealed nearly three-dozen models displayed, including Russ' Thurmond enginehouse, John Brown's scratch built HO three-track car ferry, a nice pair of super-detailed G-scale "U-boats," and a plethora of meticulously detailed and weathered HO diesels.

Thursday dawned hot and muggy as we queued for an 8 a.m. departure for Allen McClelland's exceptional Virginian & Ohio HO model railroad and a visit to the "Temple of Transportation" - the Art Deco masterpiece of Cincinnati Union Terminal. Arrival at Dayton came quickly, aided by the traffic gods and interesting running commentary by bus hosts Jim Hodde and Ed Kuhr. The bus tiptoed through extensive street reconstruction the remaining few blocks to the V&O (Allen claimed it was a new subway), and a few of the road workers joined our group to view the layout.

Since C&OHS's last visit in 1987, the V&O has nearly doubled in size, and "progress" has eliminated previous features such as the operating hump yard, the steam turntable (the diesel house now overlays all but a sector of the filled-in pit), and the KC&B branch line. The layout is pure Appalachian, and in many respects mirrors the C&O. Spotting the subtle details became a game - did everyone see the V&O Historical Society building, and the moonshine still in the woods? As always, the tracks were busy and the trains ran flawlessly. Thanks, Allen!

Our "Greyhound" made its lunch stop at a nearby restaurant row, but the search for an outlet serving Cincinnati's famous Skyline chili proved fruitless. The angry mob took revenge by swamping a surprised Hardee's.

It is impossible to walk though the rotunda of CUT - the world's largest semi-dome at 106 feet high - without looking up. Two grand murals depicting the growth of Cincinnati and the evolution of transportation in bright and subtle mosaic rise above the ticket windows on each side, and above them the lighted dome ceiling painted a special Art Deco yellow hue. Completed in 1933 with capacity for 216 trains per day, CUT nearly "died young" after its closure in 1972; only the dedicated efforts of preservationists made possible its current role as Cincinnati's premiere museum facility.

A shuddering elevator lifted us upward to Tower A, the "captain's bridge," which once controlled all rail movements through the terminal and now serves as clubhouse for the Cincinnati Railroad Club. We were immediately greeted by an interesting special movement weaving its way through NS's Gest Street Yard - two black road units followed by four matching gold-lettered Tuscan red cars - a GP35 slug, a lightweight coach, a caboose, and a business car. NS friends later confirmed this to be a track geometry train.