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Points of interest on theMontauk Valley Railroad. |
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Before the current layout at 174 Hillside Avenue The Montauk Valley Railroad call 25 Jerihco Turnpike in Mineola home! Not many photos exist of that Montauk Valley but thanks to Ed Miller there are a few gems left! One of these photo's was taken by Model Railroader's photographer Linn H. Westcott. Thanks Ed for your insight in saving these photo's. New "Original 1954" shots have been added to Moore Yard, Balance Junction, Little River, Millers Falls, Newtown Yard, and Latham!
Montauk City is the origin point of the Montauk Valley Railroad. This metropolis contains a multitude of industries and homes. The railroad passenger station is in the more populated region of Montauk. Off in the distance you can see the smoke stacks that built this quaint community. The Montauk Valley Traction Company has various rail lines that crisscross the City. Trolleys can take you from the Montauk Station to downtown, the industrial district and to Weekes Park.
Moore Yard is named for Robert Moore, a current member of the Foundation. This yard features a reversing loop as well as run through passenger trackage and freight storage trackage. The entire yard is controlled from the booth to your left. This yard boasts a round house with working turntable! All trains leaving from this yard are said to be traveling west bound. Don’t forget to ask the yard operator to run a train out of the round house. When completely crewed this yard requires a minimum of two operators and at optimum a crew of three is best since the dimensions are so massive that no one person could reach all the spots where trackage exist.
Named in the memory of Jack Balance who was a charter member of the original club that eventually formed the Foundation. Going from east to west, the first thing you come to is a series of turnouts that allow the train engineer to cross from either feeder track to the Branch Line, passenger station or freight trackage that runs down the middle. Take a careful look at the Passenger Station on the northern track, if it looks familiar, it should! The station modeled at Balance is the East Williston Station on the Long Island Railroad. After the station, you will find a recent addition to the railroad, the Hoffa Cement Plant.
Named in memory of Charles G. Weekes. Weekes Park is the recreation center for the valley. Here you will find a collection of rides as well as an assortment of games of chance. The park is also the eastern most terminus of the Montauk Valley Traction Company. Weekes Park is also home to Tobin Tower, one of two towers on the Montauk Valley Traction Company.
Millers Falls is named for current Foundation member Ed Miller. The falls are feed by Cripple Creek. There are three bridges that cross the creek. These spans where built by Ed Miller. The bridge closest to you carries main line traffic between Balance Junction and Little River. The middle bridge carries traffic to and from Moore yard. Neither of these bridges were built for their present location, they were moved from the original club’s location to this present location and pre-date the current layout! The third and last bridge carries Branch Line Traffic over the Creek to Stone Mountain via Quarrytown.
A picturesque rustic station, Little River is a point many interesting meets take place between trains heading in different directions. This is also the home of Little River Tower. This tower controls the flow of traffic over both single track bridges spanning Cripple Creek and George’s Gorge. The siding that you see turning off into the distance is the access to the coal mines on the railroad. Little River is also home to many merchants!
Stone Mountain is the highest point on the railroad. The branch lines cuts through the mountain while the main line circles around on a lower level. The forest on Stone Mountain provides the railroad with a rich supply of lumber. Within the mountain is home to the railroads third reversing loop. This loop will allow a branch line train to turn around and head back to Balance.
Hillside is the home to the passing siding on the branch line. The station at Hillside is home to the dairy production on the railroad. An interesting fact about railroads is that before mechanical refrigeration was invented, there was a system in place that used ice to keep refrigerated or "reefer" cars cold. Ice would be cut from lakes during the winter and stored in "Ice Warehouses". The ice would be cut into cubes or crushed for use on reefers. The lake pictured at Hillside would have been used for this purpose. The backdrop was painted by former member Ed Rice.
George’s Gorge is the most dramatic scene on the railroad. With the mountain in the background the sheer drop of the gorge is made even more dramatic. The most interesting note is that there is a prototype for not only the gorge but the bridge as well. The real bridge exists on the Cowlitz, Chehalis & Cascade Railway. The bridge was built by current Foundation member Ed Miller. See back panel for a more detailed story on the gorge bridge. Built behind the bridge is a dual track steel arch bridge. Look for the bridge painters! Capping off the gorge is Tobin Dam.
Snakes Bend is the final control point before Newtown Yard. It is from here that trains receive permission to move west bound, up hill, or east bound, down hill. Also, Snakes Bend controls access to the railroad’s newest inter-modal facility at Prahl’s Landing. An interesting note about the Snakes Bend Station is that it used to be located in the middle of Newtown Yard. Be sure and catch a bite to eat at David’s Diner before you finish your tour!
Named in memory of William Prahl who was a charter member of the club that eventually formed the Foundation. Prahl’s Landing is home to the COOP grain facility as well as the new inter-modal facility. Prahl’s Landing would not be much of a landing if there was no pier. This pier is the sea link to the railroad.
Newtown Yard is home to the Montauk Valley Railroad’s diesel repair facilities. The recent reconstruction has dramatically improved the performance of the yard. This yard has the ability to accept trains directly off the branch line as well as the main line. The diesel repair facility consists of an overhead crane and a three stall engine house.
Named in memory of Daryl Latham who was a member of the club that eventually formed the Foundation. Latham is noted for many interesting scenes that can be found there. Take the time to look over the town streets. The many rustic homes and shops and classic autos are there for your enjoyment. If you look carefully at the church you will see a wedding leaving the front door and a funeral in progress just outside it. Latham was pictured on the cover of the September 1984 issue of Model Railroad Craftsman.
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This page was Created By David Ramos on 2/13/97 and last updated on 05/30/00.