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Catching the Daneburg Subdivision in Port

October 24, 2017

Catching the Daneburg Subdivision in Port

Thank you for this guest Blog post and photo by Thom Harris of the Sherman Hill Model Railroad Club

Daedalus Carrying the Union Pacific Daneburg Subdivision Layout in the Port of Oakland

Why show a photo of a ship? Think cargo! Think model railroad layout preservation. All aboard! Here we go.

Near the end of 2016, Pat (the wife) and I (the model railroader) began planning a trip to celebrate our 40^th wedding anniversary (model railroader turning thoughtful hubbie and scheduling “loving honey” run.) About April, we settled on a location (San Francisco) and shortly after that we picked dates (3^rd week of October) and transport (Amtrak.) That would put us in S.F. late afternoon,16 October. On the list of places to visit was Jack London Square and downtown Oakland. Date open.

As the year wore on, I (the RR fan I) became aware of TrainLife.com and their effort to acquire and preserve Pelle Søeborg’s Union Pacific Daneburg Subdivision layout. (Read more on that HERE.) That story contained detailed shipping information. This early info put the ship into Oakland on 17 October.

A little bit of research showed me the S.F.-Oakland ferry passes by the Port of Oakland and stops nearby at Jack London Square. Aha! But would the ferry provide a decent view of the ships in port? Would the Daedalus (the ship carrying Pelle’s layout) be on time?

Come Tuesday morning, still bleary eyed from a 0300 Sunday wakeup and 35 hour Amtrak coach ride, I checked Marine Tracker website and found the Daedalus in port, due to leave early Wednesday a.m. Thoughtful husband conducting tour and model railroader on a quest, I guided a cheerful and patient Pat to the Oakland ferry. The photo above and video below is the result of this stroke of lucky timing.

And that is the 5Ws and H of a SHMRRC member capturing and posting a picture of a Panama-registered ship which carried a true craftsman’s model railroad layout from Denmark to Oakland, CA (USA) for transfer to 1:1 scale for movement to Provo, Utah to be preserved and (hopefully) permanently displayed.

Happy modelling!!!

Come see SHMRRC’s modest contribution to the hobby Saturdays and Sundays at Frontier Mall in Cheyenne, WY.