Access by train/transit:
Light Rail and Metro Lexington Market stops.
The Scoop:
The BSME had it's final open house to the public on Sunday, January 20th, 2019,
with a very large group of supporters, and a camera crew from Channel 13, WJZ, altho we did run a train a week later for a friend of mine who
grew up in Baltimore, but had never had the opportunity to visit. We thank Channel 13 for coming so that they may tell you of our plight.
On Sunday the 27th, deconstruction began, with trees and buildings coming off the two layouts, and some cutting started on the HO narrow gauge track.
We have started to cut up the wiring, the DCC decoders and power supplies are gone, and the
control panels have been moved to a safe place. "Silent Keys" as we say on the Ham Radio side of things! :-)
Some of the things will be saved, like the O scale turntable. We are
trying to save some of the narrow gauge HO track and scenes. And maybe the
O scale trolley line. Making things difficult to accomplish, is the fact
that most of both layouts are NOT built on a sheet of plywood, so once things
are cut, parts like to dangle and further fall apart :-(
Please see the additional information at the bottom of the page, along with a
short history from their Go Fund Me page.
The BSME has a lot of "stuff" in their collection, but most noteworthy, at least for the signal fan, is a dwarf semaphore, which they have rigged up with a
switch to change aspects. They also have a few coach lanterns hanging around.
Signals tho, are not the main reason to go to the BSME, trains are.....
They have both an HO and O gauge layout. They recently converted the HO side to DCC.....
The BSME is Baltimore's oldest model engineer society, dating back to 1932. It is the 2nd oldest model engineer society in the country, but the oldest devoted
exclusively to trains!
During Late December and the first few weeks of January, they are open to the public, as well as the 2nd Sunday of every month except for May.
They are always looking for new members if you want to be involved and run your equipment on something other than a 4x8!
The maps below should help you get here with help from the address and GPS data above.
The Layouts
The O gauge side.
The HO side.
Part of the HO Narrow Gauge section of the layout.
In and Outside the BSME
Outside on the street.
Railroad heralds all over the place.
Misc stuff around the BSME
Whistle and bell from a Pennsy K-4 steamer.
The light rail runs on Howard Street, a half a block away.
An old fire alarm box on the foundation of an adjoining building.
Signals
The semaphore... it usually greets visitors on a landing halfway up to the layout floor. Notice it was originally set up to use an oil lamp for illumination.
An unknown coach lantern, with detail of the levers to change the lens color.
A B&O coach lantern.
History and Additional Information
New 01/06/2009, 01/02/2015,
2/21/2018, 1/28/2019 Last
Updated: 01/28/2019
This is what you get when you Google "BSME Baltimore".
Part of the HO Narrow Gauge section of the layout.
Outside on the street.
Railroad heralds all over the place.
Misc stuff around the BSME
Whistle and bell from a Pennsy K-4 steamer.
The light rail runs on Howard Street, a half a block away.
An old fire alarm box on the foundation of an adjoining building.
