New models add local touch to miniature railroad
Pittsburgh Mayor Tom Murphy beamed like a child as he showed off the model of the historic John Woods House he built for the Carnegie Science Center’s Miniature Railroad & Village. “This is made of cardboard,’ the mayor said as he turned the house over carefully in his hands. “And then it’s covered with wax. The stones were carved individually. ‘Patty Rogers, program coordinator for the miniature railroad and village, has been after Murphy for years to create something for the exhibit. The mayor – a long-time model enthusiast – kept turning her down. And then the city’s redevelopment authority purchased the vacant John Woods House in Hazelwood.
Built in 1792, it is considered the oldest stone residence in the city of Pittsburgh and was designated an historic site by Pittsburgh city council in 1977. The federal government also recognized its worth, placing the house on the National Register of Historic Places during the 1990s.
John Woods, according to information supplied by the science center, was one of the original surveyors who laid out the city of Pittsburgh. His family had connections to famed songwriter Stephen Collins Foster who was known to have serenaded the Woods family from their front porch steps. In fact, Foster’s famous song “Nelly Bly’ was inspired by a servant working for the Woods family.
Murphy explained the city would like to restore the house and the Sen. John Heinz Pittsburgh Regional History Center is doing more research on Woods.
Intrigued with the house, Murphy approached Rogers about creating a model for the science center.
“I said, ‘We’re buying this house and I’d like to do it,” Murphy explained during a recent press conference to show off this year’s new exhibits at the miniature railroad and village, a tradition done in time for the holiday season.
Murphy came to work at the science center, located on Pittsburgh’s North Shore, at 7 a.m. several days a week and took the model home with him at nights in order to finish the project on time.
Enthusiastically, he took members of the press into the railroad’s workshop and showed off photographs of the original building to see how it resembles his model.
The two-story stone house is set in time somewhere between the late 1800s and the 1930s in keeping with the theme of the miniature railroad and village. It looks old, but still well tended. The natural stone has aged. But the trim on the windows, doors, the covered front porch and the back steps is a cheery rustic red. A farmer is on the front step, approaching the door.
Murphy climbed onto the deck of the miniature railroad and village and placed his model in the tree-filled hillside along the incline. It sits by the river as the real house sits beside the Monongahela River.
On the other side of the model river lies the town, which is set to include the second new model for this year: a replica of the Indiana County Courthouse.
Exhibit manager Mike Orban personally chose the Indiana landmark, noting, “We were looking for something with a federal style to fit in with the village and something with an interesting history. And we wanted to include Indiana County.’
Prior to the inclusion of the courthouse, no Indiana County landmarks were part of the science center’s miniature railroad and village. In recent years, the railroad staff has sought to replace generic buildings with replicas of actual structures and has reached out to include landmarks in as many western Pennsylvania counties as possible.
Fayette County has one landmark represented: Searights Tollhouse, which is located in Menallen Township along The National Road, aka modern-day Route 40. In the model railroad exhibit, the tollhouse is located near the baseball field and behind the podium from which the engineers run the trains. Any child who stops to toot the train’s whistle will be standing near the tollhouse.
The Indiana Courthouse is placed in the middle of the town and surrounded by streetlights. Researched by Orban, the model was still being built during the press preview but available for a sneak peek. Exhibit designer Nino Balistrieri explained how the large, two-story brick structure would look when finished: red brick with gold trim and natural stone-colored columns. It includes a center clock tower.
The large structure is made with an acrylic base and measures roughly 18 by 12 inches. A Greek sculpture on a pedestal will be placed in front of the courthouse. The original sculpture served as decoration for a fountain: one side a source for people and the other side a trough for horses.
The 1870-built courthouse was seen on a cover of Life magazine that featured actor Jimmy Stewart, an Indiana native, in his World War II uniform in his hometown. John F. Kennedy made a campaign speech from the courthouse steps in 1960. The NBOC Bank saved the structure and restored it as their corporate headquarters during the 1970s, according to information supplied by the science center.
New models are added to the miniature railroad and village during a two-month hiatus before Thanksgiving when the exhibit is closed for cleaning and maintenance.
This year, the staff also restored the Bijou Dream theatre, which now sparkles with fiber optic lights.
Orban noted the real Bijou was located on Penn Avenue in East Liberty. He said the film that is supposed to be playing here is “Metropolis,’ a 1927 picture by German director Fritz Lang.
“It’s a silent film – the first science fiction film ever,’ said Orban. “In the film, the elite live above ground and the working class live underground.’
Murphy himself noted how various buildings in the exhibit tell a story. He said he has enjoyed the railroad since it was exhibited at the former Buhl Planetarium, a forerunner to the current Carnegie Science Center. In fact, the mayor took lessons on model building 35 years ago at Buhl from Charles Bowdish of Brookville, the originator of this miniature railroad.
Bowdish began the miniature railroad in his home in 1920, building it for his brother’s Yuletide wedding. The railroad became an annual event with people throughout the region coming to see it. When the exhibit became too much for Bowdish to keep in his home, Buhl Planetarium agreed to take it over in 1954. The railroad remained there until 1991 when it was brought to the new science center.
“It’s always evolving,’ Murphy said, looking out at the exhibit. “For how many years I’ve been coming, they’ve always added little things. I always look for the bear and the deer in the woods. I’ve always liked the country scenes. This parade has great figures. There’s a lot of recognizable buildings.’
He said the railroad is one of the amazing parts of what it means to be in Pittsburgh.
The Carnegie Science Center is located on Pittsburgh’s North Shore. For more information on the miniature railroad and village, check the Web site at www.miniaturerailroad.org or www.CarnegieScienceCenter.org or phone 412-237-3400.