Page 43 - All Scale Rails Magazine Issue 13 March April 2017

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Up until this point, I’ve only mentioned the
stairwell that graces the center of this large
room. While its purpose of guiding passengers
to the tracks above has long since passed, it
still remains the beating heart of this whole lay-
out. The controls for the layout reside here and
those that wield the power are able to sit here
and survey a good deal of the real estate below.
Boards with bulbs that light up along drawn
out lines set here and on the wall to the north
allow the engineer to know which lines are ac- View 98 Lower Control Counsel
tive, even if they can’t physically see the train.
There are buttons and levels made of post war
materials that continue to transmit orders to a
hive of wires and relays built into the cabinets
below. The Model Railroad Club of Milwau-
kee was one of the first clubs to really focus on
operations and insisted their members be as-
signed titles and run along timetables. To this
day, each room has at least one clock hanging
in the corner.

View 99 Upper Control Counsel

View 100

Issue # 13 2017 43