On Sunday, January 20, 2019, the Baltimore Society of Model Engineers opened their doors to the public for the last time at their Saratoga Street location. HARM Members Bill M., Scott M, Rich K., and Scott W. took some time to drive down and visit the club layout. BSME was founded on March 4, 1932 and later moved to the Saratoga St location in 1952. They have both an HO and O scale layout on the third floor of a downtown business building and are the “oldest club in the United States exclusively devoted to model railroading.” The HO layout features double track mainline running as well as a branch line, some narrow gauge and a short trolley run. Scenes on the layout include downtown buildings, including the famous Bromo Seltzer Tower in Baltimore, as well as more rural scenes. There are several nice bridges and trestles scattered throughout the layout. The O scale layout features a continuous running live catenary trolly line with spring switches, double-track mainlines, and a large roundhouse and turntable in the engine facility. Electronically, the HO layout runs on NCE DCC, while the O scale layout runs on traditional DC. Scenery on both layouts seems to utilize traditional hardshell and layered texturing. Throughout the layout space there are also numerous railroad signs, maps, pictures, NMRA awards, and other railroad memorabilia collected by club members throughout the years. The club has a membership of about 30 active members, and hopes to find a new home in the area. HARM wishes them the best of luck on the next chapter of their club’s story.
