Riding the Rails a Labor of Love for Model Club Members

By Rachel Brenda Mandelman

The only miniature railroad club in San Francisco is the Golden Gate Model Railroad Club, located at the Randall Museum at 199 Museum Way.

"The Golden Gate Model Club is real cool. It's a big deal to see diesel trains running on the tracks," said Nana, an employee at Randall. "Many kids come on the Junior Engineer Day to operate and run the locomotives, freight trains and diesel models.

"There are roughly eight or nine model clubs in the Bay Area," she said. "The largest is in Napa."

The replica model railroad begins in downtown Stockton and travels through the Central Valley. Members have to switch engines to wind up the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

The club has a large warehouse behind the tracks with various switches to slow or speed up the 20 trains running simultaneously. Miniature buildings, telephone poles, stores and railroad operations comprise the town of Stockton.

In the model setup, many freight trains are loaded with various items, including soybeans and corn. The trains wind past wood mills cutting logs and run into a tunnel, where they climb steep hills covered with pine trees.

The members of the Golden Gate Model Railroad Club build the miniature buildings with cardboard, which they carefully paint. Streets are filled with cars, telephone poles, grass and miniature trees, which are glued in place.

The track climbs and winds over a 600-square-foot area.

The 30 members of the club bring their models in and pack them up later; many models are rare and expensive. Members maintain and repair the scenery as well as operating the trains.

The club operates old steam locomotives, diesel trains - many of them Lionel models. It was created in 1950 by club members in a store front and in 1961 moved to the Randall Museum, where the club has been housed ever since. The club meets Wednesday evenings and on Saturday, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Michael Stockenger said, "Maintenance involves cleaning track with "Bright Boys" and scrubbing tracks, according to Michael Stockenger, a club member.

Club members are involved with repairing the tracks, repairing wires and fixing broken scenery and telephone poles that fall down. The members can use remote controls or manual switches to speed or slow the model trains.

"I first ran a Lionel train when I was 10 years old," said Ed, an 80-year-old member of the group. "I fix broken telephone wires and other electrical wires."

The steam locomotives, called "Iron Horses," are an amazing sight.

Riding the trains was America's Great Act. Many famous actors, such a Buster Keaton and John Wayne, starred in movies with railroad scenes.

In real life, trains helped build the cattle industry. At one time, 200 trains ran nightly in Chicago, the largest hub in the 1930s.

The model club has run a wide variety of equipment from the "transition era" - 1938 to 1955.

"Several members love passenger trains so we have modern Amtrack passenger trains. Union Pacific stream liners of the post-war era as well as Southern Pacific Coasts Daylight also run," Stockenger said.

Members of the Golden Gate Model Railroad Club share the enjoyment and excitement of running model trains, he said.

Individuals interested in model railroading and improving their skills building model railroads can go to the club's web site at wwwggmrc.org or call 346-3303.