Model railroading is an imaginative endeavor. It appeals to the mechanical, scientific and creative mind. Building the world surrounding the train tracks is a fun challenge. The train can run through cities, small towns and countryside.
There is a model railroading club in Rocky Hill, that has been steaming down the tracks since 1964, meeting at least once a week and building towns, bridges, tunnels and mountains.
In a basement of a Cape Cod house in Rocky Hill, the Pacific Southern Railway Club has been a home base for model railroad enthusiasts. The 30-member club meets weekly and hosts periodic open houses for the public to see their miniature world of transportation.
The club was nearly wiped out last fall when the owner of the house, Carlton Pate, died after a long illness. His widow Anne, wished to move out of state to be closer to family, and the home with the model railroad looked likely to be sold.
When word of the plight of the railway club reached a certain local couple, everything changed. The railway has been more than saved. It has been enhanced.
Comedic actor and writer James Murray and his wife, Melyssa, happened to be looking for space in the Princeton area for Melyssa’s her burgeoning handmade candle business. After they read a story about the Pacific Southern Railway in the Wall Street Journal, they went to have a look at the home.
Murray is a lifelong model train aficionado, and, after seeing the layout in the basement he knew this would be a great fit. Melyssa’s younger brother is also a train enthusiast, so she was familiar with the lure of model railroading.
“When I saw the railroad layout in the basement, I was floored,” James says. “I mean it just kept going. The basement is bigger than the home! There is no way that the railroad could be moved. Relocation was not an option, as it would have destroyed 90% of the layout.”
The couple agreed to purchase the house. They took possession in April, but they did not wait until then to inject new life into the club. Since they became involved, the club has launched a new website as well as a new membership program.
“Murr” is known as one of the stars of the long-running TV show Impractical Jokers. The Jokers are lifelong friends who do sophisticated improvisational comedy on camera with unsuspecting bystanders. Many of the bits have one or a pair of Jokers follow distinct instructions of the other Jokers who are off camera, relaying hilarious orders through a hidden earpiece.
Melyssa and James met in New York, where Impractical Jokers often filmed. They settled in Princeton 6 years ago, and were married in 2020. Melyssa was about to start a new job in her field of nursing when the pandemic struck, and the opportunity disappeared.
“I had to pivot, as we had no idea what was going to happen,” she says. She ended up starting a company called 95 Candles. The candles are soy based, which she says have no toxins and burn very cleanly. They are sold at stores in New Jersey, street fairs and festivals around the state. (Web: 95candles.com.)
And now thanks to the success of that business, the Murrays have become a major part of the Pacific Southern Railway Club, which was founded in the 1950’s by Bob Latham, then the home’s owner, who began with an O-scale layout. He later converted his basement setup to an HO-scale railroad.
The next owner of the home was Geoff Green, also one of the founding members. Green made a huge expansion by removing one of the basement exterior walls and adding a space of 30 by 45 feet. This doubled the space for the train layout.
“The club has their own workshop also in the basement. They cut and carve wood. They create their own track, with metal rail and handmade ties,” says James. “The rails are held down with thousands of tiny spikes! It really is incredible.”
Model railroading is a hobby with clubs like the Pacific Southern Railway throughout the state. In Hamilton there is the Jersey Valley Model Railroad, which is not as old as the Pacific Southern Railway, but still has a base of loyal members. It was founded in 1978, and its HO-scale train display has been based in Kuser Mansion on Newkirk Road ever since. The trains are on display every Christmastime as part of the holiday festivities hosted by Hamilton Township at Kuser Mansion.
For a decade, Bordentown City hosted an annual holiday model train display of its own, in Old City Hall. Locals including Joe Malone and Zig Targonski put their heart into it each year. The coronavirus pandemic put a hold on that tradition, though it has returned in recent years.
Krissy Chiarello of Trains and Things, a model railroading store in Ewing, says that there are roughly 25 model train clubs in the state.
“Since the pandemic, model railroading is a year-round thing now,” Chiarello says. “This is our 47th year, and we are growing. This week I am shipping to Hawaii and Nebraska. We have customers as far away as Australia.”
As for the Pacific Southern Railway, there are still original members in the club. They meet every Wednesday evening, but also stop in at other times, always work to be done in model railroading.
The club is a nonprofit that also raises funds for good causes. Using entrance fees raised during open houses, the club donates to the Rocky Hill Fire Department and First Aid Squad. To date, the club has donated more than $250,000 to local fire and EMT workers.
The Murrays’ enthusiasm has been exciting for club members to see. They say they have breathed life into the club with a different outlook and modern marketing ideas. The website has recently been redone, and now features videos, history and offers merchandise with the club’s logos.
“Every time I am here, I see something new,” James says. “The other day I noticed there is a tiny figure ziplining! There are figures doing every activity imaginable.”
There are indeed untold hours of handwork and artistic know-how in this railroad. The models are steeped in American history, but operated in a very modern way. The layout covers 5,000 square feet, and there is more than 12,000 feet of operating track. Up to 15 trains can run simultaneously, controlled by computer technology and code written by a club member specifically for the railroad.
“The club members are all very learned. They are scientists, engineering and technology people,” says James. “They have been building and refining this railroad for 60 years.”
There are 30 to 40 members who are active and involved. “People need community. We all need to be engaged and active,” Melyssa says. “Doing hands-on work with others to a mutual goal or purpose keeps us focused. The club members connect here. They really enjoy their time here.”
In addition to needing space for 95 Candles, the Murrays needed space for the work they do for charity. James’ father died from complications related to Alzheimer’s last year, and the couple host an annual gala and other events to raise funds and awareness for Alzheimer’s patients and their caregivers. To date they have raised more than $250,000 for the Fisher Center for Alzheimer’s Research, based in New York City.
This year, 95 Candles 4th annual Alzheimer’s Charity event will be held on Oct. 25. The website is 95charityevent.eventbrite.com.
The Murrays hope that the club will also benefit from Impractical Jokers fans worldwide. There is a virtual membership now available on the website, with plans to offer bi-weekly videos from Murr showing updates to the railroad, interviews with club members and highlights of the layout. The virtual membership also includes two tickets to the Holiday Open House, where the public will be invited to enjoy the railroad in person. Active and Junior memberships are also offered.
This year’s open house is scheduled for Nov. 21 and 22. With new star power, the Pacific Southern Railway appears to be in great shape. And it’s not alone.
Jersey Valley Model Railroad club president Sean Simon says thousands come by to see the holiday train display each year. The club meets on Wednesdays and has a wide age span. The club was founded in 1969, and most of the members are local.
Simon himself joined the club at age 16. The club is unique, as several members are real life railroaders. Simon is employed as a locomotive engineer with Norfolk Southern Railroad, and has been very active in the leadership of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen union.
In Bordentown, Zig Targonski and former city mayor Joe Malone started up the annual display using their own personally model train collections. Targonski died in 2021.
When the show was offline, people often asked his wife, Nancy Targonski, if the exhibition would ever return. And over the last few years it has been slowly but surely returning, a trend Targonski expects it to continue this holiday season.
Whether in Hamilton, Bordentown, Ewing or Rocky Hill, traditions of the past and missions for the future appear to be going full steam ahead. Though not as historic as driving the golden spike that connected the first East-West transcontinental railroad, the chance meeting of the Murrays and the Pacific Southern Railroad Club may feel just as important to club members.
Murr says: “There is very little mystery left in this world. We are so connected to news, technology and the fear of missing out. Down here in the train room, you can disengage, get on board and follow the twists and turns of this railroad. We are thankful to be able to help people achieve this.”
Melyssa and James Murray inside the Rocky Hill home where the Pacific Southern Railway, an extensive model railroad layout, resides. The Murrays purchased the home with the goal of preserving the Pacific Southern Railway as well as providing space for Melyssa's business, 95 Candles.,
