Modeling the New York City Subway

Ever think of building your own subway or el? These pages contain information on how to build model layout that will blend both elevated and subway lines. Follow the chronicles as I explore building techniques or just use it for reference for supplies, articles and events. Whatever your interests, have fun with this unusual area of model railroading!

Model SubTalk WWW Bulletin Board for subway modeling discussions.
New Chronicles El Techniques (under construction)

Resources

REFERENCES FOR THE EL MODELER:

Magazine Articles

"Farewell to the EL", Eric Bronsky, Model Railroader, April, 1976.
"Modeling Elevated Rapid Transit Lines", Eric Bronsky, Model Railroader, October, 1978.
"The El in HO", Joseph Frank, Traction and Models, May, 1981.
"The El in HO-Part II", Joseph Frank, Traction and Models, April, 1982.
"New York City Els of the 1940's", Joseph Frank, Scale Model Traction and Trolleys Quarterly, No. 20(1983).
"1/4" Scale Modeling -NYC El Lines", Joseph Frank, Electriclines, May-June, 1988.
"El? Do it Yourself!", Robert Olson, Traction and Models, January, 1971.
"Polyester Resin Casting", Eric Bronsky, Model Railroader, November, 1981.
"Born to Raise Els", Eric Bronsky, Model Railroader, October 1984.
"Big City El Modeling", Mike Palmiter, Scale Model Traction and Trolleys Quarterly, No. 40(1993).
"New York City Els of the 1940's-Part II", Joseph Frank, Scale Model Traction and Trolleys Quarterly, No. 21(1983).

Books

Drawings of Contract II El Structures appear in the new book "Building the New Rapid Transit System-1912" available from Ron's Books (914) 967-7541 and others. This is a reprint of articles that appeared in Engineering News Record. Old copies of ENR or Street Railway Journal also have drawings of El structures.
"Under the Sidewalks of New York" by Brian J. Cudahy presents the history of the New York City subway system as well as many photographs of equipment. It also features as appendices short presentations on SIRT and PATH and a listing of the NYCTA roster (although slightly out of date).
A very good reference for R type cars is "New York City Subway Cars" by James Clifford Greller, Xplorer Press. This is also available from Ron's Books.
The definitive reference for subway car history is "Evolution of New York City Subways" by Gene Sansone, New York Transit Museum Press. It contains excellent historical information as well as many photos. Not as good as "New York City Subway Cars" for color photos but the car drawings are better quality.

Software

NXSYS - New York City Subway Signaling and Interlocking Simulator for Microsoft Windows®

Vendors

IHP - Transit models including NYCTA, MTA and LIRR
Images Replicas., Inc. - IRT R-21, R-17, R29, third rail and subway entrances.
MTS Imports, Inc. , P.O. Box 50, Middletown, NY 10940, has BMT Q/QX, IRT Hi-V and BMT R32/38 brass models.
MTH Rail King - Very fine tinplate transit models.
Q-Car Company, Inc. - Trolley and Rapid Transit Car Models

Web Sites

East Penn Traction Club - In Philadelphia, PA., this club set the standard for traction modules. They hold two of the best traction meets on the east coast, usually one in south Jersey and the other in suburban Philly.
Modeling The New York City Transit System by mrcrrtec - Check out this layout for some great HO and O scale photos. Some rototype phoyos, too.
New York City Model Transit Association - A site for all things related to New York City Transit modeling.
New York City Subway Resources - probably the best site for NYCTA information and photographs
NYC Model Transit Association - Steve Olsen's site.
NYC Model Transit EL - Joe Frank's great O scale layout.
Paul Kupersmith's Transit Modeling Page - a fellow modeler.

Background

How I Got Started

I've always been interested in the New York City subway system. As a child in Brooklyn, I lived on Pitkin Avenue. It was an apartment on the third floor and when I looked out our front window I could see the old Fulton Street el. Later, I watched them tear it down, much to my disappointment.

As a teenager, I would ride the lines from one end to the other, getting out to explore interesting stations, look at subway yards, etc. I also started became interested in model railroading. I had a small layout that was not much more than a loop with scenery. I began photographing the Long Island Railroad and planned to model it someday. Well, that day arrived when I graduated undergraduate school, rented an apartment in the same house as my parents and started building this layout. I used AHM undecorated coaches and modified them to resemble the LIRR coaches. I also painted a GP38 for motive power. However, I wanted to add a short "shuttle" to one of my passenger stations, so I made an attempt at a free lance subway car loosely based on an R-30. When I married my wife, I boxed all this up and placed it into storage, where it was accidentally destroyed.

Since then, I practiced armchair modeling with occasional false starts which included a planned N-Trak layout which was never built. Late last year, I noticed a small advertisement in Model Railroader for an R-21 kit . I mentioned it to my wife and told her how I always wanted to build a subway layout. I took the issue to work, but never called. With skill that would make any private investigator envious, she called the staff of MR who looked up the ad. She then placed an advance order for the kit and gave it to me for Christmas. (It actually arrived in March).

Well, that was the first step. Now I'm investigating el structures, interlocking signals and various stations as I plan my new layout. I'm also looking into various casting techniques in order to create large numbers of girders and other parts necessary for this project. It isn't easy and there are times I feel that I'm blazing new trails, but I'll publish it as I go along so that you can join me as a fellow subway modeler.