Saving the model railroad at the senior center

Walter Sprague
Arts and Culture Reporter
 
In June 2003, a model railroad moved to its current location at the Newcastle Senior Center. The railroad was the property of George Butler, who passed away soon after its move to the center. The train yard then took shape with the help of other railroad enthusiasts. Butler’s widow, Cathy, donated all his trains in March 2004 to keep the project going. For a while, it did just that. Before the move to the center, Jim Silverthorn laid out the basic plan. Soon others came on board, and the railroad had a club, of sorts, with some members being Woody Grey and Gordon Haywood. And so the Newcastle, Osage, Upton and Back Railroad ran for several years as NOU&B RR.
Due to the deaths and physical problems of club members, the railroad was abandoned sometime in 2010 or 2011. It has stood unattended and inoperable since then. Soon, workers at the center noticed a need for some security of the different models associated with the project, and parts were boxed up. According to Carolyn Shields, director of the center, stealing parts of the railroad had become a problem. Shields indicated that, at one time, the model was fantastic, and the theft and abandonment “is a real shame.” The stealing probably happened “while people were passing through to the workout room,” said Shields. Nobody saw the thefts, however, so there is no proof of when or how the parts turned up missing. The NOU&B RR has also shared its location with the Newcastle Bell Choir for several years, making it inconvenient to work on at times. If anything about the model railroad was to be salvageable, it needed a new and more secure room.
In May 2019, I proposed rebuilding the railroad. At that time, plans were underway to renovate a different room. Several projects were already underway, including remodeling and reroofing parts of the center, so this fit right in with the schedule. In September, that room that had been remodeled became available. I have already started moving some of the equipment into the new locked room. The dismantling of the railroad has just begun, and soon it will be vacated from the room shared with the bell choir, and the planning and construction of the new NOU&B RR will begin.
But I need some help. The railroad is relatively large – larger, by far, than I thought it would be when I first heard about it. And it will take several interested people committed to saving a fabulous part of Newcastle to reconstruct and run this railroad. One of the plans will be to have it up and running within the next year so that the elementary children can take field trips to see a working prototype railroad system. The running of the railroad will teach kids about team coordination, scheduling and other real-world applications. Far from being your layout around the Christmas tree, a prototype operation will mimic the real workings of a railroad. Of course, there is nothing to prevent the railroad from incorporating trains from the past. It doesn’t just need to exclusively run models of the modern diesel engines. The project will take some work and imagination, and anyone with knowledge or a desire to learn and create is more than welcome.
If you are interested in helping with the new railroad or just want some further information, please contact Walter Sprague at 307-746-9462. I can also arrange times to meet at the senior center and show the layout and the new room to you.