The New England Berkshire & Western

As many of you are aware from the postings on numerous email lists, discussion boards, and blogs, the New England, Berkshire & Western (NEB&W), the proto-freelanced layout operated by the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) club, is facing an imminent and unplanned move to accommodate renovations of the dorm in which the layout resides, Davison Hall. To say the layout is an institution in the hobby is as gross an understatement as can be made. It is simply one of the best known layouts in the history of the hobby. Unfortunately, at the time I write this, it is not known where the layout will be relocated to and whether it will even survive in its current form. That is obviously a problem of great import to the club. I will not try to offer any additional commentary about that.

I would like to offer some sense of what the club and layout have meant as seen through my eyes. It is hard to convey the influence the club and its members have had on the hobby. A great professional coach is usually judged not only by his or her success as coach, but also by the tree of others who successfully carry the torch forward. If the NEB&W is a coach, its tree is enormous too. It has produced some of the most prolific students and writers that the prototype modeling community has seen, including John Nehrich, Jeff English, and Ben Hom, to name a few (and there are many, many others). Look through any magazine in the hobby during the 80s and 90s and it would be difficult to find an issue without a byline from a member of the RPI-NEB&W family tree.

For me personally, the club and its shop were a source of great inspiration. The arrival of the latest issue of Shoptalk was better than any issue of MR, RMC, Model Railroading or RMJ. While Shoptalk was brief, it focused on exactly what interested me and had a catalog of the things that I wanted to buy. I lived in Connecticut and went to college in Hamilton, New York in the late 80s and early 90s. Troy and RPI were about the halfway point on my drives to and from college. The shop had all the freight car detail parts, Sunshine kits (in stock!), RPI exclusive resin kits, Westerfield, plus decals, all in one place! For a prototype freight car modeler, it was the proverbial candy store. Additionally, for many years the RPI club hosted a large show in the field house with a collection of discriminating hobby retailers. While the shop and the show disappeared, the club's influence remained strong, including the web site that John Nehrich maintained, with all of the great Steam Era Freight Car info.

I hope that the club can quickly find a new home, get settled and start operating again soon. The influence of the club on me and my education has been enormous and I hate to see it in hibernation.