"Last Run" ceremonies held in front of Goodman Street Yard tower on May 20, 2012. An HO scale version of the late Prof. Scudder (left) looks on as Otto Vondrak and Tom Rohatsch bid farewell to R&IT v1.0. The caboose and switcher were custom painted by alum Joe Werner, the GP38 was custom painted by Mike Smith. Photo by Otto Vondrak
Saturday, June 9, 2012 marked the end of an era in the RIT Model Railroad Club's history. After 15 long years of consistent work, design, and innovation, the rails of the R&IT have been removed. The club's HO scale railroad modeled after the city of Rochester has been dismantled to make way for a new one. No words can describe the amount of excitement this layout has brought to the many individuals involved in creating it, as well as those who operated it through the years. The actions of the founding members, who had to scrape and claw their way to establishing a club and layout, certainly can never be forgotten.
This layout was a good representation of accomplishing a lot with very little. When the club first started in 1996, there was barely a penny to be found in the operating budget. Most of the bench work came from materials that were either donated (including some from construction sites on the RIT campus) or scrounged (including from an alumni member's old roof)! Not only was money tight, but space was limited as well. Thanks to the efforts of our Club Advisor, the late Prof. James F. Scudder, we were able to secure a permanent space to house our model railroad. The constraints were initially defined by Student Government, who insisted we could only use half of the room as we were to share space with the Model Airplane Club. Fortunately, they never moved in and we were left to A420 for ourselves.
These demands didn't seem to alter the determination of the founding club members to establish a layout, however. They were motivated and destined to prove that RIT could build and maintain a model railroad layout, and ultimately they succeeded. Most of the early success can be attributed to Prof. Scudder, who was the essential glue that held our fledgling club together, and helped lay the foundation essential to developing the layout. If he was still alive today, I feel confident he would be proud to see how far this club and layout has managed to come in just 15 years.
Prof. Scudder discusses plans with SG's Club Coordinator, 1997. Photo by Otto Vondrak
Given the unusual shape of the room and our early direction to only use half of it, this had an underlying limiting effect as to just how far this layout could go. The early club members realized this, and thanks to help from Prof. Scudder, they were able to maximize the use of the space provided. Financing the construction of the model railroad was another matter, however. Until we could prove the viability of our club, our budget was just enough to pay for our office expenses and not much more. Aside from the founding members pitching in their own meager funds, the club took to collecting bottles and cans around campus and redeeming them for deposits. Through hard work and determination, the club held its "Golden Spike" open house on April 1, 1997, and christened the start of a new model railroad.
E.J. Ryder III ('00), Otto Vondrak ('99), and Tom Rohatsch ('00) spending Spring Break '97 assembling the benchwork for the R&IT, March 1997. E.J. is standing where the Amtrak station would eventually go, Otto and Tom are standing on the area occupied by the brewery. Photo by J.F. Scudder
Those founding members realized that construction could not be financed by bottles and cans alone. A more sustainable fundraiser was needed. Once again, they showed their determination by starting their own annual train shows hosted in the SAU Cafeteria. Quickly outgrowing that space, the train show moved to the newly opened Gordon Field House and became what we now know as Tiger Tracks, now the largest train show in the Rochester area. Their hard work has provided the club with a sustainable operating budget, one they couldn't have ever dreamed of 15 years ago. On behalf of the current members of RITMRC, I would like to extend my greatest gratitude to all the alumni members who aided in advancement of this club and layout.
From a current club member's stance as we look to the future, we can learn from and build upon both the successes and failures from the past 15 years, and model ourselves after the determination and grit of the dedicated individuals who came before us to provide us this opportunity. Although this is the end of a chapter on the R&IT that began on April 1, 1997, it certainly is not the end of the story. Our new layout seeks only to improve and utilize all resources available to us and continue the tradition of ingenuity.
—J.C. Mayer, RITMRC President
The RITMRC Pledge of Allegiance:
I pledge allegiance to the railroad
of the RIT Model Railroad Club
and to the trains for which it holds
one layout under the Stage,
with electricity and scenery for all.
"Ship and Travel Genesee Route!"
