Member Profile
Joel McCurry

equipment: an Atlas CB&Q covered hopper and a GN box car. His first locomotives were CB&Q and GN "Big Sky Blue" F-9s by Bachmann.

The attraction to BN grew from Joel’s desire to model something different. At the time his interest in N scale developed, manufacturers produced a seeming overabundance of UP, PRR, NYC and Santa Fe items. Those popular roads were too much in the mainstream for Joel, who reasoned instead that a focus on BN and its predecessors — CB&Q, GN, NP, SP&S — offered a counterpoint to the commonplace. Besides Big Green, he also finds the Southern, Clinchfield and Seaboard appealing. BNSF holds scant interest, however; his model timeline ends with BN.

Joel remembers seeing NRMRC layouts at Raleigh-area venues from about 1980. He joined the club in 1989 and quickly built a 12-foot module featuring much-needed passing sidings. Since then, he has worked more on NRMRC modules than his own. Most recently Joel and a few other members renovated the club’s yard, tee and yard crossover, and built two junction modules. Adept at wiring and track laying, his favorite aspect of the hobby, unquestionably, is running trains. Joel was in 1:160 scale heaven operating the "Red Line Route" at the 1996 NTRAK East Convention and coordinating the use of NRMRC modules in that massive layout.

According to Joel, novice model railroaders will be happier in the long run if they "buy quality". It operates better. Get involved with a club and learn what’s good to buy. Clubs also offer exposure to new and different ideas about modeling techniques, as do visits to shows and home layouts. Talk to and learn from experienced hobbyists: "Exposure is important," Joel emphasizes.

In addition to N scale modeling, Joel’s passion for trains includes riding real rails. He has taken Amtrak’s Cardinal to Chicago, the Pioneer to Seattle and the Talgo from Seattle to Vancouver. Rolling across Montana on the Empire Builder was unforgettable. He has also ridden the California Zephyr from Denver to Emeryville (Oakland) and the Coast Starlight from Oakland to San Diego and north to San Francisco.

Joel was NRMRC president in 1993 and 1999, and vice-president in 1998. He grew up in Forest City, NC, double-majored in Engineering and Computer Science at NC State, and has lived in Cary since 1988. Currently a controls engineer for O’Neal Inc., Joel belongs to the Instrument Society of America. He is a NMRA member and enjoys visiting the mountains.

And the next time your drive through Cary, pay close attention to the bicyclists: you might glimpse Joel, a recreational rider since 1974. Just be patient with him if he blocks intersections to admire the green lights!

Legend

All descriptions refer to looking at the front of the module.
CCW = Counter-clockwise; CW = Clockwise
Crossovers indicate travel from left to right.
Div, Divn = Division
Mountain Division = Green Track
Mtn = Mountain

Module: Coco Forest Junction

Module: Curves

Module: High Bridge (4' Bridge Module)

Module: Loopy Junction

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The NRMRC is a Not-For-Profit Corporation incorporated in North Carolina.
The various logos and heralds shown here are the property of their respective organizations.

Last updated: Wednesday February 16, 2011

North Raleigh Model Railroad Club
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