The John Kane House Model Railroad Exhibit

In January, 2001, a group of model railroad fans met at The John Kane House in Pawling to establish the Pawling Model Railroad Club under the auspices and encouragement of Pawling’s Historical Society. Their objective was to partner with The Historical Society of Quaker Hill and Pawling to construct an operating HO scale model of the village of Pawling as it appeared in 1948. The year 1948 was chosen by the Pawling Model Railroad Club for several reasons: It was the 100th anniversary of the New York and Harlem Rail Road coming through Pawling from New York’s Grand Central Terminal to its eventual northern terminus at Chatham, New York. The year 1948 also represented the second campaign Pawling “kickoff” for New York”s Governor Thomas E. Dewey, a Pawling resident, running for the Presidency of the United States, this time against incumbent Harry Truman. 1948 was also somewhat sadly symbolic for railroad fans due to the decline and transition of "King Steam" to more modern diesel power.

The goal was to build a prototype model to show the village as it appeared then.

After 2 1/2 years of research and hard work, the layout and accompanying memorabilia had become significant highlights for the Historical Society local history exhibition. They tell a part of the colorful story of the railroad history of Pawling and its people.

Our small village was peppered with many unique and historic structures now long gone. The layout, 4 ft by 22 ft, includes the 4 storey Victorian style Pawling Inn, the old block long New York Central train station, McGrath’s Diner, Chertock’s Department Store, Stock’s Pool Hall /Barber Shop, Valenti’s Market, Carey’s Store, Palmer’s Drug Store, Colman Lumber and Coal (with coal elevators), and the grand old Dutcher House hotel. The layout is accompanied by two period appropriate operating steam engines with digital sound chips and several good examples of period rolling stock.

Additionally, two other operating layouts have been added to the Pawling history rooms. The second one shows the village of “Pawling Station” as imagined in 1858, 10 years after the first wood-fired steam locomotive train served passengers and freight on the line. This model, in smaller N scale, gives us an idea of what our town looked like on an autumn morning, after a dusting of snow, in its early years of railroading. Along Railroad Street, (later called Maple Boulevard, and now called Charles Colman Boulevard) one can find models of G.S.Norton’s Travelers’ Home hotel, the Merwin Stove/Tinware Store, the Taber /Arnold’s Bull’s Head Market, the National Bank of Pawling, the N.Y.& H. R.R.’s engine turntable, the James Crane Saloon, the Toffey & Sons Blacksmith Shop, the Hotel LeGrand and the A.B.Corbin wagonmaker/undertaker/blacksmith Shop.

We have a third operating layout showing the DeWitt Clinton train built by New York’s West Point Foundry in 1831. The DeWitt Clinton was the third public carrier in the U.S. to operate under steam. On her maiden run on August 19, 1831, the DeWitt Clinton traveled from Albany to Schenectady in forty six minutes via the Mohawk and Hudson Railroad. This layout shows how the early trains suddenly connected small towns with a huge impact, ushering in a new era in transportation changing small village lives forever.

Pawling residents still have a railroad in our midst, the Metro-North Railroad - Harlem Division, which serves us well, as it’s predecessors did for almost 160 years. We have been fortunate that we have not lost our rail connection to New York’s Grand Central Terminal. Our historical model/layouts have become educational focal points and sources of pride for our community as well as for museum visitors - young and old. They are located on the second floor of The John Kane House in the two Pawling history rooms. The museum is open on Saturdays and Sundays during the summer months or by appointment.