Jim Wanlass' Bronx Terminal on the Central Railroad of New Jersey HO Scale Module

[@alexpiper9475]

thank all thats good somebody has modeled that terminal ! its been on the to do list. good luck to the finish!

[@trainmaster9323]

After almost 30 years in the hobby I am still discovering an absolutely new thing. Simply spectacular Thanks ❤

[@bearowen5480]

The circular freight terminal is a fascinating project. Thanks for the excellent report. I had never heard of such a thing! I would note in a similar vein that the roundhouse that is the central focus of the B&O Museum in Baltimore is quite unusual in its own right. Rather than being constructed in the conventional style we're used to, with the turntable being outside the building and spider tracks being situated in such a manner that the locomotives, once properly alligned, could proceed inside into their individual stalls within the building. The B&O Museum roundhouse was originally a car servicing facility. Its turntable is inside the roundhouse building itself. The cars were rolled inside the building and onto the enclosed turntable, then spun to their maintenance stall tracks. The whole operation was enclosed and not exposed to the elements. That might also be an interesting modeling project as well.

[@loispadgett6306]

What a intersting build and very clever idea they had for the round house. It seemed to work well in real life and when he is done building it it will work well on the layout too. Thank you so much for sharing. GOD BLESS 🚂💖🚂💖🚂💖🚂💖

[@robertweldon7909]

I found Tim Warris' You Tube channel, after doing a little searching. All of his build videos are there, (from the early 2000's) you just have to dig them out. I believe that Tim was the first one to build this model rail road. For those who don't know, Tim is the Fast Tracks guy that makes all of those neat track building jigs. In one of his videos, Tim explained that the place where they "raised the track" was where it crossed everything to get to their engine house, and how they did it, a neat trick. There are a few rail roads that have used a variation of this trick at rail road diamonds too. A Rail fan You Tube guy has shown one in operation. Jim has a big project ahead. Nearly everything has to be scratch built. It will be really cool when done, Tim Warris' sure is. ;-)

[@ToyManTelevision]

They use this system at the California Railroad Museum. The “new” area, the old SP-CP shops on the other side of the old SP main, now UP, is accessed via a diamond between the museum building and the river. Because the UP is against the whole idea, the museum track crossing the UP main over the main. By a few inches. On lift out rails. And locking gates on both sides to keep people on the tracks and the bridge over the river.

[@vincenthuying98]

Dear Dale and Karyn, great episode! Around 2013 I found Tim Warris’s version of the CNJ Bronx Terminal on the web. It was my reacquaintance with model railroading and especially induced my own very first step into modeling track. Of course, by indulging myself with all the info Tim has shared on the CNJ project, I couldn’t resist to jump into his track building jigs through the Fast Tracks firm. On small NYC ferry freight terminals, there’s a whole bunch of info to be found on the net. The northern side of the Harlem River was a busy place at that point of time. And of course not to forget the several terminals on Manhattan, mostly Hudson side, Brooklyn and Queens on their East River quays. Also, the CNJ Terminal isn’t the only one which has been modeled to scale. Especially the Lehigh Valley Terminal, also called Bronx Terminal, and the West 26th and West 28th, respectively B&O and Erie/Erie Lackawanna, have seen versions in different scales. Using Tim Warris’s track building templates is an absolute pleasure. Although I must add that my next step into modeling track is to indulge myself into Templot, a British software program to design track into high detail and definition. Advantage of this software is that it’ll enable me to start modeling track based on a concrete roadbed, as is often used in newer subway tunnels. The program now also provides ways to 3D print the different rail chairs which are needed to create the track alignment. The youtube channel Bexhill West has produced some excellent videos on the workings of Templot. So much for now! Cheerio

[@ioanekirarahu951]

Wow! Don't forget that Jim has his NMRA "MMR."

[@jamestowntrains]

Yes, that is true. I prefer craftsman kits but everything about this will be completely scratch built except the car floats, tug, transfer bridge and one structure on the connecting module. Many years of building and all my experiences will help me make this. There are a lot of little things that are falling into place to finally make this a reality.

[@ioanekirarahu951]

@@jamestowntrains Thank you for all the interaction and good will at the last Train Show in Spanish Fork. I still have much more to do in my "Finescale S" Layout.

[@deathwishdrang1780]

I have an old Model Railroader magazine or Craftsman mag that featured this place, along with photos and track plan. Most unique was the crossover as I recall. I have always thought this would be the most difficult thing to model in all of the prototype scale modelling possibilities. Completing this would make him my nominee as the greatest railroad model builder of all time, sorry guys, but this is so beyond the skill of mere mortals, he pulls this off and he's the King. Good luck finishing this and making it work, I salute your magnificence!

[@jamescerone]

Well as was shown, someone has already done this in N scale

[@deathwishdrang1780]

musta missed that, but boy, what a feat, i'll rewatch, thank you@@jamescerone

[@garyacker7388]

Thanks again guys 😊. I just watched your video and re watched it. What unique piece I'd spend hours pouring over the whole layout. ❤

[@dermottmcsorley8641]

Amazing,if possible I'd love to see updates.

[@tomas5376]

A different kind of round house!🚂🚂🚂🚂🚂

[@jamestowntrains]

It’s actually a round freight house. Not a roundhouse for locomotives. 😊

[@tomas5376]

@@jamestowntrains That’s why I said “a different kind of roundhouse”

[@caseyvillemodelrailroad3877]

Great vidio, love the Roundhouse , like how the track is round about the building like my roundhouse tracks and the mini yard is alot like mine. Point is that the more i learn about trains the more i see things iv built out of layout necessity iv found on internet very close ta what i designed and built . Trains are too much fun. Thanks for the morning coffee...

[@everettthepetractionguy4222]

I watched with great interest the HO scale Bronx Terminal at the Western Model Railroad Club. Jim Wanless' trackwork really blew my mind...because like him, I LOVE crazy trackwork. And I like that circular roundhouse. Because the The Bronx Terminal module is unfinished, I hope you will revisit the Western Model Railroad Club when the module is completed. I'd love to see it when it's done...especially the crazy trackwork. I once lived in the The Bronx, I spent the first 12 years of my life there. 😊 Nice video from you, as always...I enjoyed watching. 😊

[@PowerTrain611]

I have always been a huge fan of the CNJ, and the Bronx Terminal is one of my favorite obscurities. The three engines that setved the railroad were the CNJ 840, a unique 0-4-0 classified as the "A-1" in the Jersey Central's documentation. The preserved #1000 diesel by a conglomerate of Alco GE and Ingersoll-Rand took over and there was a tiny Davenport diesel that assisted #1001. Both 840 and 1000 took over switching out the Jersey Central's Elizabethport Shops and Communipaw Terminal after the Bronx Terminal creased its operations. 840 and 1001 were both scrapped, which is a huge shame. I would love to build a replica of 840. It would be a phenomenal engine for any small operation.

[@MakeItWithCalvin]

I know it is a track-laying NIGHTMARE, but I love that layout design! If you were willing to make some sacrifices on the track plan, you could make one heck of a cool self-contained switching layout.

[@jamestowntrains]

It will be totally operational as a standalone module. No sacrifices on the track plan. I plan on using a car card system at least at first. There are 13 doors around the freight building and 17 yard tracks so a lot of possibilities.

[@MakeItWithCalvin]

@@jamestowntrains That's incredible, can't wait to see it finished and in action.

[@scottb8175]

FYI - Tim Warris of Fast Tracks built a HO model of the Bronx Terminal that was featured in a series on You Tube. The series has been cut down to only a few videos available now, but the original series was very interesting for fans of complex trackwork and switching layout operation. Model Railroader featured a track plan about 25 years ago for the similar Harlem Terminal of the New Haven, I believe.

[@robertemmons2260]

I was so into this video that I did realize that I had just watched the whole thing when you stated, "Click the blue button." I was fully interested in the details of this unique setup and wanted more, so hopefully, there will be more of this unique setup in a future video? Thanks for another amazing video!

[@jamestowntrains]

It will take awhile to finish and bringing it to club setups will help to motivate me to get a little something more done each time. I’ve made it super easy to move and setup! I’m sure there will be an update video down the road.

[@robertemmons2260]

@@jamestowntrains looking forward to the updates 😀

[@jeffbangkok]

Another pleasant good night to you 2.

[@mikefronczek7862]

Jim has built some custom turnouts for me, first one i called a piece of jewelry. his work is great and this project is right up his alley.

[@robertlucido3686]

About you showing that barge for carrying railroad cars. The railroads here in Michigan used to use car ferries to ferry freight cars across the St. Clair River in Port Huron until the St. Clair River tunnel was opened in 1891. And they also did that very same car ferry operation when the tall auto-racks and double-stack intermodal cars came along. That operation was done until 1995, when the railroad opened a new and larger St. Clair River tunnel, which is still in use to this day

[@richardp.nathhorst9317]

These very compact round terminal complexes are really an East coast thing where costal cities evolved before railroads and real estate was already at a premium especially in wharf and warehouse areas when the railroads arrived. I suspect that there had to be a fairly intense level of commerce in a port terminal area to make the intense development of these little gems worth constructing. New York City and the Bronx was of course the ideal example.

[@ThatBIGTRAINGuy]

A very interesting building. Makes sense, with the cars each lining up with a door. But, a bit limiting if the business grows. Very cool none the less!

[@pwanlass]

Congrats Jim!

[@growclipbonsaiforseniors1951]

Fantastic video!!!!!

[@stevemellin5806]

Fantastic show . thank you

[@jetflyer102]

Great video. Thank you for your hard work.

[@johnboughton7451]

I’ve seen a HO Layout on KZbin where a gentleman built a layout which includes the barge that travels across a fictitious lake and connects to a dock and is unloaded and reloaded and it starts over again wish I could remember perhaps Ai might know

[@jamestowntrains]

Thanks for documenting the early stages of my module. Really my only modification to the prototype is the switching lead crosses the double track main and can connect to it so I can hook to the club or Free-mo modules. It can also be run independently as a stand alone module. A lot of work yet to do. I’m looking forward to seeing the progress of this as much as everyone else! 😂

[@frankhellman6879]

There's a lot of those pics on Pinterest. A very odd configuration for the real world. But in N scale, the perfect layout for when I'm in assisted living. 👌

[@robertdshannon5155]

Note: there are recent railroad crossing where a train actually rolls over another track. I saw prototype at TCCI

[@Mike__B]

0:24 ok I'm from SF, when the heck did the newest Caltrain Stadler KISS trains come out in HO scale?

[@jamestowntrains]

Only a certain number were made for execs of Caltrain. We display our club layout at Stadler's open house in Salt Lake City and the manager over the project donated his set to the club. It was really cool to get a picture of the model with the real thing in the background still being built.

[@Mike__B]

@@jamestowntrains Wow that's awesome, are they actually working models? Or just display models? I know for one of the Caltrain events showing off this they gave away some of the front units as door prizes but didn't know if they were working models or what not. I didn't win, and I didn't get close enough to see them.

[@jamestowntrains]

@@Mike__B It has a motor but I think it is underpowered. The guy who has it tried to get it to work but it doesn't. I'm not sure the exact reason. We just display it on one of the passing sidings at the show.

[@farmerdave7965]

Is that the Lehi train show ?

[@jamestowntrains]

This year the show that is normally in Lehi was moved further south to Spanish Fork.