Welcome New Students and Transfers! First Meeting Aug. 26

Welcome to all new students and transfers! Are you interested in trains, scale models, electronics, programming, photography, and more? We invite you to visit the RIT Model Railroad Club. We are holding our first informal meeting on Tuesday, August 26, in Room A-420, located in the lower level of the Student-Alumni Union (Building 4), starting around 7:00p.m. Come see our new HO scale model railroad under construction, the Rochester & Irondequoit Terminal Railroad. Grab a throttle and run some trains with us! Follow us on Facebook to keep up with the latest news and events. Explore our web site to learn more about the club and our activities. We meet every Tuesday night at 7:00pm.

Summer Hours and Freshman Move-In

Hi everyone! We're on summer break right now, so there will be no regular meetings until the end of August. However, if you're a new student visiting campus this summer and want to check out the club, please contact us and let us know! We would be happy to show you around. New Student Move-In Day is Tuesday, August 19, 2014. Our club is always looking for new members who want to learn more about trains and model railroading and help us build the new and expanded version of our HO scale Rochester & Irondequoit Terminal!

Historic Despatch Junction hobby shop lost to fire

On the afternoon of Monday, May 26, while most people were home enjoying what remained of their Memorial Day weekend, Despatch Junction Hobbies, located in the old freight house in East Rochester, burned to the ground. The first fire call came in around 5:15, but by then it was already too late. More than 80 firefighters from around Monroe County responded to the blaze, and the CSX main line was shut down while water lines and tower ladders attacked the flames.

The structure dates to the 1880s and was Penfield's first passenger station, before it was converted to use as a freight house by the New York Central railroad. It was later sold and was briefly used as a night club before it became Despatch Junction Hobbies nearly 30 years ago. Owner Stan Slade has been a friend and benefactor of this club since our start in 1996. A wide variety of model and toy trains in all scales could be found inside the store, as well as many new, used, and rare items that cannot be replaced. It is with heavy heart we say farewell to Despatch Junction, and we send our best wishes to Stan and all his employees during this most difficult time.

--Photo by Otto M. Vondrak