BRADFORD – The Bradford Ohio Railroad Museum (BORM) recently approved a model of the Bradford rail yards, said Marilyn Kosier. The model will be set in 1920’s Bradford, Ohio and will be an N-scale model, 1/160th of the actual size.

The room where the model will be located within the museum, which is located at 200 Miami Ave. in Bradford, can accommodate a 23.5 foot by 6 foot representation of the rail yards which included 60 miles of tracks throughout the Bradford community, said Mike Desch of Precision Metal Fabrication in Dayton. Desch and Rick Miller will be constructing and installing the layout, said Kosier.

According to Desch, the track plan will show the main line, engine service area, the yard, and the “Y.” The railway YMCA was the main center of social activity at the height of the railroad in the early 1900s, said Kosier. The YMCA also served as a hotel for railroaders and out of town guests, she commented.

“The time period will reflect the height of the rail road operation,” Kosier commented. “The United States government took over the railroads during the first World War and did a complete renovation of the yards. The model will reflect this period in Bradford’s 130 years of active railroad operations.”

Included in the model will be the 15-stall roundhouse, the station, the YMCA, the towers, the wooden coal dock, and the concrete coal dock, as well as a loop for continuous running, said Desch. There will also be crossing shanties and support structures such as the oil house and power plant, Kosier stated.

“Many people have forgotten that Bradford was a railroad town since there are no tracks left in town after Conrail took them up in 1985,” Kosier stated. “The museum is keeping this part of railroad history alive.”

The museum has received grants and donations for this project as part of the capital campaign to transform the museum’s interior, said Kosier. The museum will continue to accept donations toward the museum interior, and to purchase rolling stock for this particular model, she commented.

The museum held a Dining by Rail silent auction and dinner, using authentic railroad dining car service recipes. The next Dining by Rail event will be April 13 at the Covington Eagles, said Kosier. Reservations can be made by going to www.bradfordrrmuseum.org or contacting Kosier at mkosier@rrohio.com. Run for the Rails, a 5K run/walk will be October 12, participants can register through the website, Kosier commented.

Desch and Miller intend to document the progress of the model project at www.bradfordrrmuseum.org, and the project is expected to be finished in the next year, Kosier said.