(Whistle).

Music.

Tracks Ahead.

Brought to you by.

The Model Railroad Industry Association Helping hobbiests design and build their own miniature railroad empires, inside or outside, big or small (Whistle) Kato Manufacturer of precision railroad models and the UniTrack System Music.

Hi, I'm Spencer Christian.

On this episode on Tracks Ahead we'll look at the history of the company that built almost all of the interurban cars in the US.

We'll look at a radio controlled garden railroad and then visit a museum in the green hills of Kentucky.

But first we're going to the Outback of Australia as we work our way from the harsh dessert of Alice Springs to the green hills of Adelaide.

Of course will travel by train on the Ghan.

Ancr: Through the core of Australia's red center runs a train, The Ghan.

It's called this desolate country home since the 1920's and its history is close to the hearts of Australians.

Passenger: I love the Ghan.

Ancr: It is the way to travel through the rough middle of this vast land.

Passenger: Irene had the idea that this would be one of the best ways to see the Outback, right up close and personal and it is, it's great.

Employee: It's like a legend; it is a legend.

Ancr: The legendary Ghan runs between Melbourne and Alice Springs.

In a country of contrast it would be hard to find two more different spots on the map.

Melbourne is the second largest city in Australia.

It's a bustling place complete with it's own local trains in metropolitan flare.

Alice Springs seems a world away; it's got the feel of an outpost in the middle of the Outback, but there's something special about Alice.

Passenger: There's something about Alice, as soon as you come through that gap there's a beauty about it.

Ancr: Many begin their journey a bit further north, deeper, closer to the equator.

They come for the rock.

Passenger: If it wasn't for the rock no one would go there.

Passenger: Right, it's the main attraction of course, you hear about it but you actually have to see to really appreciate it.

It's huge and it's something that everybody should experience of seeing, I believe.

Ancr: Aires Rock or Ularu as it's known by its Aboriginal name, is the reason most people come to this area.

In fact there are so many visitors that what you might expect to be in an awe-inspiring experience cloaked in natural silence, is often filled instead with the clamor of restless, anxious tourists.

The experience is unforgettable and magnificent.

Passenger: When you see pictures of the rock it's okay but when you get up close to it, it's awesome.

We went out to see the rock at sunrise, so you could see the different colors, it was awesome.

Passenger: To see that sunset, it's just breathtaking.

They say, 40 greens in Ireland, I saw every bit that many shades of red at Aires Rock, fantastic.

Ancr: It is fitting that a train of legend is the preferred means to travel through this ancient sacred land, a land that is for the most part, virgin and unspoiled, something increasingly rare today.

Passenger: One of the things that we we're commenting on this afternoon if someone from America were allowed come over and start developing, the whole thing would be developed immediately you would be seeing, McDonalds and Burger King everywhere; instead it's a vast vacant land, it's amazing.

Ancr: A lack of restaurants out there does mean there's a lack of dinning opportunities in here, in fact, just the opposite.

Passenger: The food on the Ghan is just beautiful.

Ladies & gentlemen, those guests traveling in our Gold service section of the train holding the sunset meal sitting reservations, could you kindly make your way to the restaurant, as your dinner is now being served.

Passenger: We ate Kangaroo last night.

Passenger: It was wonderful.

We had some high hopes of seeing Kangaroos and we actually did see some.

Passenger: That is Kangaroo, my friend, it's a very tasty meal, guarantee it.

Chef: Kangaroo meat is marinated with macadamia and a pepper leaf, which is found out in the bush mainly in Australia.

That's one filet there, you get one filet per Kangaroo.

Passenger: I know you don't have Kangaroos in America but if you're ever come to Australia try the Kangaroo; it's one of their best meats.

Guaranteed.

Ancr: A ride on the Ghan is more than just a trip from point A to point B; it's a combination of experiences.

Passenger: It's just an exciting adventure; it's more than anything that I had expected to see.

Going across the Outback was very appealing because we thought we would see a very large area.

Passenger: I've never found a nasty person yet, you have someone to always help you, the staff's always nice.

Joe: I'm always impressed when people come inside as total strangers and within an hour or two it's like a big family.

Because of that they also get involved all sorts of culture changes versus lonely, different people from all sorts of the world.

Ancr: The Ghan is an epic journey to think about, to save up for and finally to enjoy.

Joe: I've spoken to an older couple today and they have thought of this trip for the last six years and now they are here.

They couldn't believe it; they think they are in heaven.

Passenger: The only thing is I'm in a single room at the moment and it's not meant for big ladies, little ladies yes, but not big ladies.

Ancr: There's always room on the Ghan, room for everyone and if ever does get a bit snug inside, there's another world outside as open and limitless as your imagine.

The Outback seems a place without bounds; the Ghan is your point of entry.

The Ghan is planning on a future extension all the way the Darwin on the north coast.

If you're fortunate to be truly good at one thing at life you really do feel blessed.

But if you're into garden railroading, being good at one thing just isn't enough.

Not only do you have to know model railroading, you have to be an expert gardener as well.

Out in Maryland, we met one of the best.

Ancr: This railroad is a work of art; a work of art in the making for the past 20 years.

Jim Strong is the artist.

Strong is a self-made model railroader well as an amateur landscape architect but looking at this layout, maybe amateur is the wrong word; expert might be a better choice.

His Woodland Railway is not only large but absolutely fascinating to look at.

All together it probably measures out at about 150 feet by 150 feet.

It's laid out in two main sections; there's the section that was built in the woods behind his house, that came first, a few years later, the side yard portion was added.

Jim: Once I did get the sub-track down, then I started to think what do I want to put around it.

First of all I was getting plants and I killed plenty of them trying to get them to grow in the shade but eventually I found the ones that would survive, they didn't have to grow they just had to survive.

That's where we got the yews, little cedar trees, and things like that.

I found moss grows really well here, does a good job of keeping erosion down and I found the plants.

I always wanted to keep an Eastern flavor to it so that's why I went to the kind of rocks I have here, rather than yellow or red rocks that are typical of the west.

These are basically Pennsylvania fieldstone, which come from Pennsylvania.

I would guess that I used about three-five tons of rocks so far.

Ancr: Some of the same things that make Jim Strong's layout so impressive are the suggestions he would offer to anyone considering such an undertaking.

Make sure you have a strong theme, the railroad has got to be as much fun to look at as it is to operate.

Different things can help accomplish this, make sure there's a certain amount of visual isolation in your design so that the entire railway can't all be seen at once.

Jim: I like it when I have to walk around to see everything just like if you were at a real railroad.

If you flew over one in a helicopter you couldn't see the whole line at one time.

They go through trees and through mountains and things like that's the kind of visual barrier that I wanted to have in the railroad.

I've planted trees for one thing, and large bushes, the trains go around hills that I've built up out of rock and stone.

They go through tunnels, anything to isolate one area from another and force you to walk around to see everything that is there to see.

Ancr: Jim suggests that a layout design be as natural as possible just like it is in prototype; let it follow a natural path and the path of least grade and least resistance.

Build it like they build a real railroad.

One thing you might want to do is build on a raised planter, it's easier to see and easier on your back; not as much bending over.

When you design your layout make sure you provide for lots of easy access as well as operating flexibility.

It's no fun if you can't get to the parts of the layout that you want to work on.

Jim: I advise people when starting out, start out with something very small, in an area that they might want to build their railroad and then expand from there.

Don't try to do it all at once, don't try to plan everything out on paper first, you might have plans on paper but don't try to do it all at one time.

You'll find that if you try to build too much you'll get frustrated and you'll never get done, but if you have a chance to start small you'll see what you'll like, you'll find out what you like and you can go from there.

Ancr: Just listening to the names of the towns here, Hemlock Hill, Tall Oaks, Willow Flats, and Woodland Junction give you a little bit of an idea of what plantings Jim likes to use.

Jim: Up in the woods I found that Yews will survive nicely, they'll grow, then the Azaleas grow well in the woods, they're a shade plant, they don't necessarily bloom up there but they do grow and survive.

There's an Arborvitae that seems to grow well in the shade, all most people think of them as sunshine plants, it's funny, there's one that has a vertical leaf and another one that has a horizontal leaf.

The one with the horizontal leaves, I guess they catch the sun better, do well in a partial shade, they'll basically survive.

Then there are boxwoods, American and English boxwood that seem to do well.

Ancr: On the Woodland Railway the big details are pretty noticeable but if you look closely, you'll see that just as much attention is paid to the little details.

Realistic, real life scenes, social vignettes, Jim likes to call them, just little reminders this fantasyland is not that far from reality.

Now here's a bit of wisdom from Jim Strong.

Don't get so serious about the hobby that it becomes too much work not enough fun.

Jim says too many folks take the hobby to an extreme.

For many years the PCC railcar was a stable of the inter-urban electric lines in American, we'll look at the company and the man behind it all, in just a moment.

Kentucky, home to blue grass and thoroughbred horses and trains.

Kentucky is where we'll find the railroad museum where in addition to steam we'll find the last of the breed of diesel locomotives.

Ancr: Way back when our country fell in love with trains, this is what they looked like and this is what they sounded like.

The experience is still very much alive at the Kentucky railway museum here in New Haven.

It's a history linked to key events in our history as a country, during the Civil War, New Haven was home to a church seized by the Confederates and used as a hospital.

This rail line cut through a lot of the heart of the action during the war.

The Sherwood Hotel which sits next to the rail line, which was built by Errol Johnson's grandfather in the 1870's.

At the time this was a town split by the war between states but also a town that managed to stay together.

Errol: Kentucky was neutral, my grandfather chose the Union side, and he had to go to Indiana to be sworn in.

Mr. Hagen, his friend, south of here, Bowling Green all confederate, he goes to Bowling Green, he's sworn into Confederate down in Bowling Green.

This picture of my grandfather and Mr. Hagen and my grandfather was a Union man and Mr. Hagen was confederate man, both from Chickamaugua.

Mr. Hagen doesn't have a hand he lost the hand at the battle of Chickamaugua, they're both from the same battle.

My grandfather has a crippled arm, he was ordered to battle Stone's River, this was taken in 1898, and after the war they were still bosom buddies, like it never happened.

Ancr: Today, it's a peaceful way to spend an afternoon.

It's easy to get nostalgic about trains and this one has a long history.

On special days you can step aboard and find all the gentility and grace of the once proud Flamingo.

John: The Flamingo was one of the named trains of the Louisville and Nashville railroad and it ran across this branch line on its way from Cincinnati down to Atlanta.

The railroad museum has recreated that in conjunction with a foundation in Louisville and we have the Flamingo dining trips and the china is the standard railroad white china, all the acrudiments, the pepper shakers, sugar bowls, creamers and so forth they're all logo with the L & N logo much as it was in 1930's and 1940's.

Ancr: Out the window you see the countryside pretty much the way it was all those years ago.

The 22-mile round trip wanders through the rolling Fork River Valley.

Boy Passenger: It's great because it's good food, the waitresses and waiters are doing a good job.

I've never been on a train before, this is my first time; it's great.

Ancr: Out the window it's a Kentucky where you can almost picture another era one where this wasn't just a way to travel but THE way to travel, steam.

John: Steam engines are fascinating for a lot of people because, in fact they live and breathe, when the steam engine fires up it puffs, huffs much like people do.

You can actually see the steam coming out of the cylinders and it shows how the engine is working and has the noise to it, the whistle sounds, it brings back lots of memories for the older people, but for the younger people who have not grown up around steam it still shows how things work and how steam locomotives work, it's a living creature.

Ancr: It lives and breaths right here for you in the heart of Kentucky.

Music Edwin: My name is Edwin B. Meissner, Jr., and I'm retired.

I use to be President and General Manager of the St. Louis Car Company.

Ancr: The St. Louis Car Company is the history of American street cars.

Edwin Meissner, Jr. took over after his father led the company to greatness.

Edwin: I was the luckiest guy alive.

Many of my associates went to work for their fathers.

It didn't always work out too well, but I'm just the opposite it worked out great.

He's a wonderful guy and we got along great, he raised me from a pup to follow in his footsteps and I did; I loved it.

This is a PCC car, it was the new development, it became very popular in many cities so we got a lot orders and repeat orders.

I think the car company and the PCC car go hand in hand for people that know this industry.

It gives you a sense of pride that the equipment that we built back in 1930's and 1940's are still operating, unfortunately there's not as many as there use to be.

We built close to 5,000 PCC cars for most the major cities in the United States.

I'm sorry to say most of them are not longer in service but on the other hand some of them are in service by their second or third owner that makes you feel proud.

It's good equipment, if it's probably maintained it could almost last forever.

We think it looks better than any bus than I ever saw, we think it's a classy design even though this thing is pushing 50 years old, I still think it has a classy look to it.

Ancr: The creations of the St. Louis Car Company played a role all across our country, some carried troops, some were for personal travel with an eye toward the elaborate.

Most were the workhorses of urban transportation whether you stepped aboard in New York, or New Mexico, you stepped aboard a St. Louis Car.

Edwin: People think it was streetcar shop and it was but it was also a very diversified factory and had many capabilities.

This is a Chicago Transit Authority rail rapid car built by St. Louis Car Company.

Someone came up with the idea of salvaging components from unneeded street cars that they wanted to take off the street and building rail rapid transit cars that they could use on their new exclusive right away, they shipped the old cars to us.

They were built by our competitor Pullman, and we scrapped them, but we salvaged the trucks and I think the seats, perhaps the lights, and other components but we built brand new bodies.

Then we reinstalled those expensive components for all practical purposes they had a new car but at a lot lower cost.

The sad fact is that there are really no full-blown car builders left in the United States; we're about the last to go.

Our Canadian friends have an assembly plant in New York, the Germans have an assembly plant in California, but most of the works done overseas, it's an industry really survive in the United States.

If it wouldn't have been for our family, it was our life; the company was it.

I was born and raised to go into it and I did and I loved it.

Ancr: The next time you step aboard an old PCC car remember where it was born, remember Edwin Meissner, Jr. You'll still find PCC cars in operation in cities around the US.

Thanks for being with us and please join us for more Tracks Ahead.

Music Tracks Ahead.

Brought to you by.

Kalmbach Publishing Company Bringing you Model Railroader Magazine very month for over 65 years And Garden Railways magazine Helping you take the fun of model trains outdoors.

Kato Manufacturer of precision railroad models and the UniTrack System Walthers Manufacturer and supplier of model railroading products serving the hobby since 1932.

Model Railroad Industry Association A not for profit trade group for professionals in manufacturing, importing, packaging, or publishing model railroad merchandise Music Music Music Music Music