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Welcome to Cinder Sniffers, Inc.
www.cindersniffers.org
Cinder Sniffers is a model live steam club located
in the greater
Our track accommodates 7-1/2", 7-1/4",
4-3/4", 3-1/2” and 2-1/2" gauge trains.
Although, as our name implies, our foundation was based
on coal-fired live steam engines,
we also run oil
fired, propane fired, battery powered, and gasoline engines.
See our
“SCHEDULE” page for run days.
The track is open to
the live steam community and invited guests.
HISTORY OF THE
by Robert W. Maynard
Probably
the reason for starting the CINCINNATI CINDER SNIFFERS is the same reason why
almost all live steam clubs start: it is nice to share the hobby with someone
who feels the way you do about steam engines.
The
CINCINNATI CINDER SNIFFERS began in 1955 with a total of six members, Jim Aull,
Ed Biennstein, Ralph Knox, John Korte, Bob Maynard, and Ed Stoeckle. Three of the original six are still involved
with live steam today. The
organization was strictly informal.
There was only a small monetary charge each month for postage and
incidentals to operate. Two
members, Ralph Knox and Bob Maynard, had operating locomotives. The other four were building, and all
shared the dream of having a club track.
At that time, the club track was in the distant future, but one of the
members, Bob Maynard, built a private track in his backyard, first a 100-foot
oval and later a 200-foot oval. The
CCS “runs” were held here until 1964, and it was here that the
winter runs, including the January 1st meets, were started.
In
1963 Lou Bandy offered the use of his company property at
The
building of the track on company property occupied the better part of two
years. But alas, our first run was
not until August of 1965 just before the Lockland business failed in September
of the same year. The last run was
two months later in November of 1965 when the new owners of the Lockland
property insisted that the track be removed by the beginning of 1966. It was a very discouraging time.
During
the next few months, Russ Conley spent many hours of his spare time combing the
countryside of the tri-state area (
Conley
finally found a suitable place near
Construction
at the new site started in March of 1968, and for the next year, there was only
right-of-way grading, site clearing, and trestle constructing. A member of the club,
Most
of the members agreed that the Lockland track had been too light in
construction (the rail was 1/4” x 3/4”) so the 1 1/2” scale
track was increased to 1/2 x 1,” and the inside rail for 3/4” scale
was 1/4 x 1.” Three steel ties per foot were spiked to 2 x 2” wood
ties and then the rail was welded.
It was a very substantial assembly, and a 3-foot section could support a
300-pound locomotive without bending beyond its elastic limit. Using steel rail was not an easy
decision to reach. Many members,
those who had graduated from “O” and “HO” gauge, wanted
aluminum rail, but after a vote, we chose steel. It is interesting to note that the
wheels run on this steel track without excessive wear and track maintenance
itself is minimal.
At
the same time when steel rail was chosen, it was also written into the by-laws
that all track be laid in two gauges, 7 1/2” and 3 1/2.” Some
members who were building larger gauge locomotives wanted exclusively 7
1/2” track while another half of the membership pushed for 3 1/2.”
Thus, the by-laws changed to include all scales. Since that time, the CCS track has added
a 4 3/4” and a 2 1/2” rail.
The latter came as a “free” present when the 1” was
put down in 1979.
Presently,
the club operates five gauges, 7 1/2,” 7 1/4,” 4 3/4,” 3
½,” and 2 1/2.”
It is also possible, with the use of off-center couplers, to have 7
1/2”- and 7 1/4”-gauge riding cars with smaller locomotives, and no
one will dispute the advantage of stability inherent in the larger cars. It may also be noted, the belief that larger
engines will “run over” smaller locomotives is untrue. The smaller engines generally move
faster than the larger ones and all engines must observe a 5-mile per hour
speed limit. And one of the
greatest advantages of having all the gauges together on one track is that this
also bands the club into a single unit.
Whatever is done to the track is for everyone in all gauges.
Actual
rail laying commenced in May of 1969 on the south trestle with the original
“dog bone” appearing by September of that year. The switch at
Since
the completion of the original “dog bone” shape of the first 1100
feet of track at
We
began trestle construction in May of 1968.
On the original track plan, there were two trestles, one 275 feet long
and the other 90 feet. We were
quite fortunate that month when it rained 28 days out of 31. The rain made it possible for us to
drive the posts into the ground for the long trestle. August construction on the shorter
bridge was not as easy, however. We
needed a post hole digger to dig all the holes then.
In
1980 the possibility of purchasing another small tract of land arose, and a
Land Committee, headed by Dick Schmid formed. We again sold stock to raise money for
the land which was slightly over one acre in size. This made total club property nearly
three acres. At that time, we
thought the land could be either a parking lot or a “buffer”
zone. The idea of building more
railroad on such rough terrain was not considered. Fortunately for the club, Paul Busse did
consider it, and he designed a usable section of railroad that would increase
our main line by almost 1000 feet.
This plan also required more railroad engineering, many hours of work,
and a lot of money. The greatest
engineering stumbling block was a timber trestle almost eighteen feet high and
150 feet long. The return, however,
was worth the cost as the trestle not only would increase our total length of
track but also added to the scenic value of the line. This new line also provided for the
incorporation of another station and siding. And for those who enjoy the prototypical
operation of railroads, it does incorporate an opportunity to do so.
One
thing is certain about laying track: it is better to have most of the details
planned on paper before you start building. We did this the second time but not the
first. A great deal of thinking and
planning went into the new extension.
The first section of track was pretty much like “Topsy”;
“it just growed.”
We
developed a better procedure for the laying of smooth steel rail. Members carefully graded, ballasted,
leveled and cleaned up the new right-of-way. We placed and leveled ties, and then and
only then, we welded rail into position because steel rail, once welded into
place, resists any movement to change its fixed position so it absolutely must
be correct the first time around.
The extra care taken in construction paid off. We have a noticeably smoother ride
already on the completed parts of the extension and spring of 1988 is our
target date for completion.
One
major part of the CCS railroad, the switches, needs special mention. These are controlled remotely and
operated electrically. They
accommodate five gauges, have no guard rails or frogs, and give good service
all in all. Some switches have worked
for fifteen years with little more than an occasional shot of lubricating
oil. Any derailments on these
switches are generally through human error. While their appearance is definitely not
to scale and acceptance is not universal, their fine operation keeps winning
friends.
In
1970 Jim Aull and Bob Maynard started the practice of naming certain sections
of the railroad after deceased members.
Jim Aull built a beautiful little railroad station, and a contest was
held for the name. Bob Maynard submitted
the name of McALLISTER. Jim chose
this name and the custom began. Dan
McAllister was a C&O engineer for almost fifty years. He belonged to the CINCINNATI CINDER
SNIFFERS for almost five years and was one of the kindest persons one could
ever know. It seemed right that we
should remember him in this way since most railroads have names for
places. This practice was not
adopted at Lockland because the railroad itself did not live long enough.
The
McALLISTER station was moved from its original
The
club paper, The Mudring started with Larry Koehl in 1970 and in 1978
Ralph Payne took over publication.
It is published six times a year and sent to all full and associate
members. It is also mailed to many
other clubs and special persons engaged in the live steam hobby. It includes all news concerning club
activities and a column devoted to “Cinderette News.”
The
CINDERETTES are the wives of members who are interested in helping their
husbands enjoy this wonderful hobby.
Evelyn Maynard started the group informally by simply asking the women to
come to the meeting. Ev Maynard
writes the Cinderette column, and she is the informal chair and coordinator of
the group. At a regular club
meeting, it is quite possible to have more than thirty men and more than twenty
women. The CINDERETTES operate The
Schmidhaus Diner under the guiding hand of Martha North while Carol Cain
supervises the flea markets at each of the train meets. Their organization has grown to become
extremely helpful to the club. The
CINCINNATI CINDER SNIFFERS owe a great deal to these devoted women who raise
about 60 percent of the much-needed income.
At
the present time, the CCS has over fifty regular members in addition to many
associate members of all ages. More
than half of the regular members work regularly on the railroad. As with all clubs, some members stay,
some leave, new faces join, and things move ahead. All live steam clubs face the problem of
age (slightly more than half of the CCS are over age fifty-five). The CCS participate in various
“shows” to encourage the young to take up this wonderful hobby of
miniature locomotive and railroad building. It is not always an easy task.
Bob
Maynard served as president of the CCS for thirty years, from 1955 until
1985. Most of the other officers
also have served more than one term.
Jim Aull was treasurer from 1955 until 1979; Lou Bandy was
vice-president for six years, Bill Bosse held that office for six years, and
Rip Collins served for ten years.
Ed Stoeckle served as corresponding secretary for fifteen years and Larry
Koehl held that office for ten years.
Al Lohmoeller has been the watchdog of the treasury for eight
years. All of these positions take
time and work and dedication.
The
future of the CINCINNATI CINDER SNIFFERS seems very bright. We have a group of interested members
willing to work and to serve the needs of the club. The organization is better than it has
ever been in the past and looks forward to the completed extension of the
track. Dick Taylor, currently in
his first term as president, has the assistance of the Board of Trustees and
the cooperation of the members. The
CCS is a train leaving the station.
Our engine is impatient with lifting pop valve. The conductor gives the highball. The engineer pulls the throttle. The drivers dig into the rail, and we
are on the move!
Webmaster’s Note: The
preceding history was written by founder Bob Maynard in the late 1980s
Officers
through December 2011
|
|
Vincent Bradley |
|
Vice President |
Steve Chromik |
|
Treasurer |
Ed Habel |
|
Recording Secretary |
Tom Tekulve |
|
Corresponding Secretary |
Charlotte Hughes |
Charlotte Hughes, Corresponding Secretary 2008-2011
E-mail:
corrsec[at]cindersniffers.org
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Please replace [at]
with the '@' symbol.
Cinder Sniffers, Inc