Maywood Milk To N.Y.C.

 

The N.Y.O.& W. grabbed my attention rather late in life.  Native to close by Ithaca, the Lehigh Valley Railroad was an early interest.  The story of my trip home following birth had our car stopped at a railroad crossing.  My Father held me up so that the passing train was visible to the new born.  Memory fails me as to whether the engine was steam or diesel. My second teaching position placed me in the area where the O & W had operated and that railroad became the focus of my models.

 A picture of the Maywood trestle can be seen on the wall in the background.  It had fourteen towers but available space limited me to only seven.  At this point on the trip to the big city, the milk train would have been pulling more than five cars but this image may still be seen by others as impressive.  The creamery in Sidney Center was large, employing many and providing transportation for many area farm's milk.

No model could be found for these milk cars.  Pictures were abundant and actual blueprints were published in a book.  Plans for the model were drawn and the cars were built from scratch.  Basswood scribed sheets were cut to size for the car sides and ends.  Thin cardstock was used to create the door side panels that were installed to prevent damage to the car as the milk cans were slid toward the car.  There is a published picture for every model built.  The lettering, decals, and numbers are accurate as are individual differences in each car.

These cars existed in two different forms over their lifespan.  As originally built, each car had doors centered in each end as well as a beam intended to serve as a step as the trainman moved from car to car.  Traveling with those doors open would have helped dry out the interiors from all of the water there as a result of melted ice.  I talked with many people old enough to have seen these milk trains but none could remember the color of the cars.  Their attention was always focused on the engines.  Any picture found did not show which was correct so I may have the colors reversed.

These cars were built late in my career and the hand dexterity and sharp eyesight were weakening.  Plastic ready made cabooses were used but accurate lettering and numbers were installed.  Luck is the only reason that I am still here as is illustrated by the running lights placement at the end of the train.  That correct placement was not discovered until after the picture was taken.  Of course this is not a life or death issue but so far my luck has always held.

This photo was included to show footing detail for the towers.  Click on the picture and it will enlarge.  This bridge was built from several Micro Engineering kits.  It was built so that it could be removed in one piece but it is not likely to find a new home.  The engine and the cars have now been returned to their boxes in preparation for an auction.