I need to send many thanks to club members who allowed me to test their memory to record this narrative of the club. In particular, Jan Luth, a charter member, has diligently been collecting and saving information about the club that has proved invaluable when this archive was being put together. Much of the early history of the club was recorded by him.
In 1980, a notice was placed in Model Railroader magazine which stated that any model railroader in the southeast section of Connecticut who would be interested in starting a club should call Dennis Fustini. Upon calling, interested persons were informed as to the date and time to meet at 112 Deerwood Road in Groton, CT. Approximately a dozen people showed up for the first meeting.
Dennis, having had experience with a club in the State of Washington was chosen as the club’s first President. Ted Bossard was chosen as the Secretary. The next few meetings were more of a get acquainted and bull session type get together with a couple of field trips to Ted’s to see and operate his layout.
As Dennis resided in the Ledyard Highlands he made a suggestion that the club might be able to meet in the Ledyard Highlands Community Center. This allowed for more space but did have one drawback. If the President was not around for some reason, the club could not get in to have our meeting. Meetings were held there for a period of a couple of years, but as the center was also used by other groups, the club could not leave anything behind until the next meeting.
At one of the early business meetings, it was suggested that a name be chosen for the club. Several ideas were kicked around before we voted and suggested the name “Mohegan and Pequot Model Railroad Association.” The name was taken from the Mohegan-Pequot Bridge that carries Rte. 2A over the Thames River near the Mohegan Sun casino. The name was suggested because the early club members had to travel over the bridge to meet each other in the early days.
The first show the club was asked to participate at was the Ledyard Fair on Labor Day Weekend in 1981. The club was not able to put together too much of a display, but did manage to have an operating 4’x4’ S tinplate layout together with an operating 2’x4’ N layout. There were some static modules along with examples of S scale, S tinplate, O scale, O tinplate, HO, OO, and the Ives Standard. From this first display, there were many ideas to improve our following shows.
Our next show was in conjunction with the Nutmeg Division of the NMRA held in the municipal building in Groton, CT. This show necessitated the making of modules. After much work the club was ready to meet for its first module display. It was quickly discovered that problems do arise at the most inopportune times and we were not exempt. One of the corner modules did not arrive. The club members started to scrounge around and eventually managed to obtain a folding table. The table ended up being too low. One of the members suggested that we place a gym mat on top of the table. This proved to be just about right with a few shims. Flex track was soldered to the end modules and the club was ready. All in all, the show was very successful and it proved to be a valuable learning experience in what possible problems we might encounter at future shows.
The Mohegan and Pequot Model Railroad Association was now off and running in good style. Ideas on modification for the modules came next. Methodologies were developed for joining tracks between modules, determining the best way to connect modules, and how to provide electrical connections. Since the club was expanding all the time, rail joiners could not be relied upon to carry the electricity from module to module around the whole setup. An early breakthrough was the realization that continual setting up and taking down a portable module layout created numerous problems. Most of the members had permanent home layouts where when a problem arose it could be taken care of once and for all. By working together for “the cause” the problems were identified and eliminated but as most are well aware, it is impossible to anticipate all problems.
In 1987, the club decided to officially incorporate as a not-for-profit corporation with the State of Connecticut. As part of the incorporation, our name was changed to “Mohegan Pequot Model Railroad Club, Inc.” At this point the club had grown from a modest 15 members at inception to about 40 which precipitated the need for a more formal organization.
One of the more memorable early projects was started in the fall of 1988. It was decided that the club build a portable layout approximately 4’x8’ and donate it to the Newington Children’s Hospital. The Miner & Alexander Lumber Company donated the 4x8 plywood and a pair of folding legs. Trackside and Hobby Depot donated track, turnouts, an engine, cars, buildings, and a mountain with a waterfall. Members of the club worked a number of meeting nights to get the layout ready, using this as a hands-on clinic. On Thursday the 22nd of December the layout was transported to the Newington Children’s Hospital. There was a lot of enthusiasm from the staff and all agreed that the children would be thrilled when they saw it. The Newington Children’s Hospital staff sent a very big Thank You and an invitation to visit anytime.
On Christmas Day 1988, the club’s display at Avery Point was featured in the Sunday Edition of The New York Times. Jan Luth recalls the story of the reporter visiting:
“It was about 11 or so in the morning when I got a call from the club President at the time, Rev. Bob Leyare. He said, ‘There is a reporter from The New York Times who is going to be stopping by for about a half hour or so to take a look at the layout.’ So I went down to Avery Point. The reporter arrived around noon and we ran trains and talked about the layout and the club. Her husband was waiting in the car figuring the visit was going to be brief. About an hour later her husband came in to look for her and was amazed at the display. The reporter and her husband ended up staying until about 5 o’clock before they headed back to New York.”
In 1990, the club decided to try and start an annual club sponsored train show. The first show, "The Great New London Train Show," was held on October 21, 1990 at Mitchell College. The show was continued on annual basis until 2003. The shows location was at Mitchell College until 1994. In 1995 and 1996, the show was held at Ella Grasso Technical School in Groton, CT. The final show was in 2003 at St Bernard's High School. After that year, the show was discontinued due to lack of interest.
Also in 1990, the club moved its Sunday meetings to the Bill Library in Ledyard, CT. This is where we still meet today, typically every 4th Sunday of the month at 7:30 pm. In 1993, the club reached an agreement with Larry Southwick to use the space in his basement as a place to store and work on modules. Ever since, the HO scale contingent has taken advantage of his very generous offer and holds a Wednesday night work session at his house.
Up to this point, our largest annual display was our annual Holiday Display at the cafeteria at the Avery Point campus of the University of Connecticut. However, as part of the expansion of the Amherst Railway Society’s Big Railroad Hobby Show in 1996 from one building to two buildings, we were moved to the Young Building. We were also allowed to expand our layouts tremendously. In addition, we were able to bring our large G-Scale layout along with the HO and N scale layouts which had been coming for the previous 8 years. This also marked the first time we used a tractor trailer to move our modules. Member Vic Clark worked for North American Moving Lines. His employer’s generously donated the use of a trailer for a week to allow us to transport all of the HO and G scale layouts. This was always quite a scene and always drew a crowd. We have been located in this building ever since and it is still our largest display of the year.
In April 1997, the O Scale layout of the Mohegan Pequot Model Railroad Club was featured in the model railroad press. It was the cover story in the April 1997 issue of O Gauge Railroading. The story featured many pictures of the O scale layout along with a track plan of the typical setup and module standards.
While the club had taken many day trips before, there had never been anything done as a group longer than that. That changed in 2000, when a small contingent went on the first club trip to Cass Scenic Railroad in West Virginia. This proved to be the spring board for future trips. Every year since, club members have taken a 4-5 day long trip during the summer. Most of the trips have found the group heading west to Pennsylvania and Ohio.
Prior to the spring of 2001, the club had built a number of small club project modules. At this time it was becoming apparent that the largest previous project, the original Passenger Module, was nearing the end of its lifespan. A new module design had been in the works since 1995 but in 2001 a space to build the benchwork was found. Jim Spavins parents agreed to let the club build the benchwork at their house. Construction started on the mammoth engineering feat in March of 2001. The entire module set is over 42’ in length and took approximately 5 years to build.
The year 2002 marked the end of one era and the start of another for the club. The year proved to be the end of the annual Christmas display at Uconn’s Avery Point campus. The club had been able to display there for almost 15 years. It provided many good memories for club members and many current club members were introduced to the club at these Christmas displays. 2002 also marked the start of the digital age for the club. It was decided that the club newsletter would be distributed by email. By 2003, it was also apparent that the club needed a new website. A trial version of the site was presented to the club during the summer of 2003. Approval was granted to proceed and the domain name www.mprr.org was secured and the site has been online ever since.
Over the years, the club has consistently had an HO, N, G, and O scale modular displays. In 2004, another modular display was added. A group of members constructed an On30 layout which was added to lineup at the Big Railroad Hobby Show in West Springfield that year.
Starting in 2004, the club has really focused on rejuvenating the HO layout. This included a personal module building session in 2005 and the construction of a new transition module in 2006. The motivation behind the work was to be invited to participate in the 2009 National Train Show which was held in Hartford, CT. The work paid off, and during the summer of 2009, the club brought a completely renovated layout to the show.
For more information on the club today, visit the Club Information page.