The Hammond Museum, Part 2

I was touring the Hammond Museum (see also Part 1, posted yesterday) and came to this scale model railroad, once the primary means of moving goods in the area:

And yes, this rural part of America once moved people by stage coach:

A demonstration of Victorian elegance:

William McNeil (in yesterday's post) was not the only grizzled early pioneer with a larger than life personality. The museum also honored Ezra Brockway, who became rich selling salve. He purchased an island in the St. Lawrence, where he lived as a hermit for the rest of his life, becoming stranger and stranger with each passing year. He was found with his front door open one winter and hauled back to town to thaw out, but it was too late. Ezra Brockway had been too cold for too long, and he died:

There were lots of small artifacts donated by local residents but this one really caught my attention. This metal "Lil Abner Orchestra" was once someone's treasure:

 

The Hammond Fire Department bell:

 

A one room school house:

This elaborate stained glass window once graced the local Odd Fellows hall:

 

A Victorian parlor scene:

Wedding and funeral dresses:

I was taken next door to the second stone building and let inside for a second tour. That barn in the background, by the way, was also part of the museum:

Right inside the door was this broom holder, a curious but useful invention which might prove handy even today. But I'll wait until tomorrow to show you what else I found inside the stone building:

Railroads On Parade, Part 2

I was touring the "Railroads On Parade" exhibit in Pottersville, New York. Daytime and nighttime cycles of three minutes each were alternating and I was currently watching the nighttime displays as miniature trains traveled back and forth through the little towns, cities and mountains:

A whole neighborhood of houses was lit up beneath a railroad bridge as trains raced across the span:

And then the lights brightened and it was daytime once again. I stopped at a city scene with vintage cars and trucks on an elevated highway:

The neighborhood I'd just seen at night looked totally different in the daytime:

Trains ran through snowy mountains:

And Mountains in autumn:

There was a switching yard:

And an Adirondack mining or logging town in autumn:

I stood back and snapped a shot to give you a better idea what the overall scene looked like:

And then focused back in at a city scene:

I never noticed at the time, but have noticed while making these posts, that all the scenes seem to have been set in 1955. That, apparently, was a very good year:

But even though it was plenty cool and cloudy outside, I had six dogs in the car who were quite anxious for me to return. And I had yet to stop for lunch and gas, not to mention a long drive yet to Albany. So I snapped one last photo of the "Railroads On Parade" building and headed on down the road. Their website, if you'd like to learn more is here:

Railroads On Parade, Part 1

The dogs and I were on our way home from a weekend up at the farm. We'd traveled down through the Adirondacks and then connected with the Northway. I was speeding southward when, at Exit 26, I decided to get off at Pottersville and buy myself some gas for the car and some food for my lunch. But before I arrived at the aforementioned purveyor of gasoline and sandwiches, I noticed that "Railroads On Parade" was open, the first time I'd ever seen it so. It was cool enough to leave the dogs in the car and I had plenty of time, so I bought a ticket and went on in:

Railroads On Parade was a model railroad exhibition with scenes from New York's past. Tiny trains zipped by going in all directions:

The scenery and buildings and were all highly detailed and perfectly miniaturized. Notice the tiny people in the scene below:

There were scenes from New York City, the Catskills, the Hudson Valley, the Adirondacks. I'm sure there were many more also that I just can't remember:

This, I think, was a railroad through the Adirondacks:

The guide told me that "Generak" was their imaginary city which represented all of New York's historic old cities. This scene was built to look like 1955:

And just then all the lights went off in the room and lights came on in the houses and towns. The guide told me that they have 3 minute day/night cycles:

I saw a drive-in theater playing an old black and white movie:

And a bustling "Generak" during its industrial days:

There were bridges and canals and mountains and valleys. Through it all, the trains kept running:

"The Station" in the Adirondacks was also set in 1955 and my most vivid memory was the nighttime scene with a lighted and festive looking carnival (just to the left of the sign):

I zoomed in for a closer look at the celebration. Perhaps it was a county fair. I was thoroughly enjoying my tour of the tiny displays and found myself missing so much detail that I'd pass by a second or third time, amazed as if I was seeing it all for the first time. You can find out more at their website, and/or you can tune in tomorrow when I'll post Part 2 of my field trip to "Railroads On Parade:"