Bill Mellors drives Paul Roy’s CPR F7 past the entrance to Santa’s Place.

Many clubs would like to expand their tracks and build new car barns, loco depots, stations, workshops, tunnels, and bridges but wonder how they can afford them. Here’s the way the British Columbia Society of Model Engineers came up with a solution. Other clubs may wish to use the strategy to enhance their own railroads.

At Christmas time in the more northerly parts of North America – and Europe, too, I suspect – most Live Steamers and model engineers have put away their trains for winter and shut down club running until warmer weather returns. The British Columbia Society of Model Engineers used to do that, also.

However, in 1998, with many major construction projects ahead of us to get the track ready for the IBLS 2000 Meet, the executive searched for ways to raise money. Sure, our public running in the warm weather was bringing in a good cash flow, but we discovered a shortfall when we ran the estimates for two tunnels, two large retaining walls, four new, long bridges and a large workshop.

Paul Roy’s CPR F7 approaches one of two crossings.

We quickly organized a roster of members and spouses to staff the 38 days. We installed the track one evening, by wheeling in a utility trailer with the track and another with our loco and three (one for standby) 8-foot-long bulkhead cars and a caboose. We bolted the 24-foot radius track together around the already completed Christmas landscape with Santa’s throne in the center. Two ramps were made out of plywood to allow pedestrians, especially those with strollers, to cross the rails and then exit. The track was tied to six big posts in the mall area by using plastic-coated clothesline wire. This stopped the circle of track from creeping. The Mall provided a wooden fence right around the track with a loading and exit opening.

The BCSME boxcab is in the standby siding if needed. The track switch curved section is 1/16 of the full circle.

We started operating the day Santa arrived and ran until Christmas Eve, and then from Boxing Day until December 28. Was it worth it? We found we had taken $13,000 in donations plus the $5,000 the Mall gave us. Our outlay was $2,500 and insurance cost $150 (added to our regular policy for our park operation). It had been so successful that we could hardly wait for next Christmas.
The second year was even easier. We had the track and train in place in two hours. The club boxcab was used again. It ran flawlessly as it did the year before. When the donations box (an old bus fare box) was emptied for the last time in 1999, we had $17,000 plus the $5,000 from the Mall. Jubilation! We had big expenses building the workshop and bridges at the track for the IBLS Meet of the Millennium and this eased our worries. The third year we did the same, except Paul Roy loaned us his battery-electric 24v CPR F7 complete with digital sound. We put the boxcab in the siding for standby use.

Bruce Wilson, our treasurer, came in every evening and collected the coins and bills. He checked to see that the loco was put on 12-hour charge. Sorting, counting and packing the coins into rolls for banking was a major job for Bruce. He figures he took 416 lbs. of coins to the bank.

Running was from 10 am to 10 pm most days. Bruce also made up the staffing schedule with four-hour shifts once a week for most members. Some members wanted more hours. What else do you do in the rain or snow anyway! For year 2000, we took in $18,000 plus the Mall’s $5,000. So a grand total for the three years came to $63,000. Better still, the Mall wants us back for 2001, and the next year?

Here are more details to give you a better look at our operation – especially if you’re thinking of getting this going for your group:

You need a battery-electric loco of some sort. It doesn’t have to be very powerful as you are pulling only about 14 people maximum on flat track. Once the train is started, little tractive effort is required. You need a charger that can put out at least 15 to 25 amps for 12 hours. For the boxcab, we have a Lester 24v, 25amp charger with a timer that has served us 23 years so far.

We used our club bulkhead straddle cars.These have a padded seat board, are 8 feet long, and will hold seven people each. If you use typical gondolas, you need about five. Put a caboose at the back for looks. Half the passengers will be adults, usually parents and grandparents. Unless you are in a huge mall this should be enough cars. Have a spare car stored. Our club cars all have machined 4140 alloy steel wheels. These are cut from a 4-1/2" diameter annealed 4140 bar and CNC turned. There has been no wear to speak of in six years on our two-mile park track or on our inside track. Our locos are fitted with tires of 4140 also. To cut any squealing of wheels, we rub a candle along the inside edge of both rails in a few places about once every two days. Grease is too messy. Mall personnel laid indoor/outdoor carpet on the tiled floor to pad under the rail. This cuts noise and wear and looks better.

Our track was made from 1/2x1" hot rolled steel bar with 1-1/2 x 1/4 x 15" steel ties welded on 8" centers. We widened the gauge to 7-11/16" to make sure there would be no binding and extraordinary wear. Our track had to be 24-foot radius at the center line. So we had 16 sections to make a circle, just like an HO tabletop track. The joints are parallel; each section was welded in a jig to make sure any section would mate with another and we didn’t have to number them. Two extra curves were made later for sidings, as were a left and right switch. The curved section of these matched the other curves, so we can put it in on a curve and have a siding. We figured we can make the straights if needed. We used only one switch, and the curved rail it replaced was the siding to store the fully charged standby loco. We bolted them together with 1/2" bolts and Nylok nuts. Then we wired around posts to hold it all in place.

Bill Mellors drives Paul Roy’s CPR F7 past the club’s CNR boxcab.