Maywood Station Making News on All Fronts
Atlas’ recently released Maywood Station trackside structures, available in both HO and N scales in kit and built-up versions, have been instant hits and brisk sales continue. At the same time, the prototype, the historic Maywood Station in North Jersey, is also going gangbusters. The Maywood Station Historical Committee, (MSHC), which restored and now runs the National Historic Landmark site, recently held an Open House attended by some 300 visitors, and reports that sales of its annual holiday ornament, as well as the Atlas models available on site, are active and ongoing. “We have re-ordered all HO Maywood Station items,” said Atlas Vice-President of Sales Joe Kolnoski. “In HO, the kits are completely sold out at our factory, and we have very few of the built-ups left.” Rob Pisani, Atlas head of HO Product Development, who is a member of the MSHC and had a hand it its restoration, (See story, “The Historic Maywood Station – From Reality to Your Layout”) said funds raised from the sales will pay for ongoing maintenance and restoration at the site, which also includes a museum.
“I hope and expect that the just released N scale version will be equally as popular,” Rob said. “It was truly a unique and enjoyable experience to be able to assist in the restoration of the original 1872 built structure and then work to create 1:87th and 1:160th scale replicas for Atlas.” A lengthy article on the Maywood Station, complete with photos and a sidebar about the Atlas models, appeared in the September 2006 issue of Railroad Model Craftsman. This past June, Vanity Fair magazine rented the station for a day-long photo shoot involving several alternative rock and country music performers. The station and it’s recently restored red caboose were used as backdrops for the feature, according to Ed Kaminski, president of the MSHC. The article is scheduled to appear in the November 2006 Vanity Fair. The caboose, donated by Conrail, was opened for the first time during the August Open House, which celebrated the 125th anniversary of the formation of the New York, Susquehanna & Western Railway. The MSHC is a division of the New York, Susquehanna & Western Technical & Historical Society. The event included exhibits, vendor tables, and displays by local railroad societies & clubs, as well as a large modular N scale layout and two HO modules. Children were given NYS&W softballs and railway calendars. Atlas was among the benefactors publicly thanked by the MSHC in their newsletter afterward. The museum will hold Open Houses on Sunday, November 12 and Saturday December 16. For more information on the Maywood Station, including how to purchase an ornament or commemorative brick, please visit www.maywoodstation.com. Find the trackside structures here for HO, and here in N scale. New Maywood Accessory Now Available! A companion item, the new HO & N Hairpin Style Fence, is arriving at hobby shops in November 2006. The new fence was tooled to go with the Maywood Station kits and built-ups (it is included with each). Being a common style of fence on many northeastern railroads, it was also decided to release it as a separate item so modelers could utilize it without having to purchase the Maywood Station models, Rob said. It can also be used as an add-on to the existing sections of fence that are included with the station models.
The fence, HO item #774 and N item #2850 are easy to assemble, requiring no glue. They feature loop pickets and spear finials. The HO length, (if assembled together), is 35.55”, while the N length, (if assembled together), is 15.6”. In the real world, the hairpin fence was commonly used by railroads to keep people from crossing the tracks in station areas. On your layout, it can be used around parking lots, parks, cemeteries and homes. MSRP: HO - $4.25, N - $3.50. See them here.
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