B&O
RR - West End Subdivision
- The
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad - West End
Subdivision is an S scale, 100' mainline, 11' x 45', prototype
railroad set in West Virginia ■
S scale layout
(code 100
track) representing B&O between Keyser, WV and Grafton, WV in the
mid-1960s. Mainline is basically a double-track loop, but is
operated point-to-point with trains originating/terminating in several
hidden yards on layout. Car card operation and Digitrax
DCC. Benchwork, trackwork, and wiring are 91% complete.
Backdrop and scenery are about 40% complete and structure are about 20%
complete. Scenery features foam insulation carved to represent
both cut stone (portals and viaducts) and sedimentary rock.
Sectional benchwork.
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The
Berkshire Air Line Railroad Company
- The Berkshire Air Line Railroad
Company is an HO scale, 125' mainline, 30' x 12', freelance railroad
set in Western Massachusetts ■
The BAL is a fictional joint lease
operation of the New Haven and Boston and Maine running through the
Berkshire Hills of Westtern Massachusetts around 1950. Equipment
includes late steam and first generation diesels of both parent
railroads hauling long freights and first class passenger trains mixed
with a few home owned BAL pieces. The scenery is complete and features
many movie references along with some light humorous settings. Most new
locomotives have DCC control, but some of the older pieces still run on
analog
Click on Photos to Enlarge
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Clear
Creek and Caldswell Mining and Railway Company
- The Clear Creek and Caldswell is a N
scale, 42' mainline, 14' x 14' freelance railroad set in
Western Pennsylvania ■
The Clear Creek and Caldswell Mining
and Railway Company (CC&C) is a freelance model railroad. The
CC&C is a formerly independent shortline operated under a 99 year
lease by the Pennsylvania Railroad. The period is 1915-1965, depending
on which equipment I run. It measures 14' by 14' with benchwork in a
serpentine walk-in design, point-to-point with continuous running
option. The mainline is one and a third scale miles long (42 actual
feet), from river port, over mountains, to farming valley - all
somewhere in Western Pennsylvania's Appalachian Mountains. There is
live interchange with the PRR, B&O and Erie, and open staging.
Control is Digitrax radio DCC, and track is Peco code 55, with 20"
minimum radius and all curves "eased". 90% of scenery is
completed to the "basic" level (detailing to come), with towns at
"mock-up" stage. A car-card system, which I adapted from several
different systems available, is used for freight car forwarding, and I
follow a "sequence timetable" (no "fast clock") with track
warrants. The layout is designed for prototypical steam-era
branchline way-freight switching of on-line industries, and relatively
short 14 car trains. Yet with a mainline over a mile in length
and a continuous run connection, there is plenty of "railfan" running
available when the mood strikes.
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Continental
United States (CONUS) Lines
- The CONUS Lines is an O scale Hi-Rail,
158' double track mainline, 24' x 35', with 2 7' x 13'
peninsulas, prototype
railroad set in NE, East, Pocahontas, South, MidWest, Far West, NW,
Canada West ■
Continental United
States Lines, "CONUS Lines", is an O Scale, Hi-Rail layout reflecting
dramatic changes in this part of the hobby of model railroading over
the last two decades. Multiple long trains representing the various
geographic regions that Rick has lived in during a 26-year Navy career
traverses a continuous run 158 foot double track mainline featuring
2.3% mountain grades cresting at the mountain hamlet of Armstrong.
Point-to-point and out-an-back operations on a lengthy branchline are
also feasible on a layout plan "Big Trains You Can Live With",
developed by John Armstrong in the 1980s. A member of Rick's O Scale
Group gave him the plan three years ago suggesting that John's drawings
closely matched his available basement space; the current layout
reflects about 80% of John's thinking. For the MER Convention visit,
Rick will be running trains from the Pocahontas Region, specifically
N&W, VGN, C&O, B&O, and WM, during the steam-to-diesel
transition period. Motive power will be MTH, with DCS control allowing
multiple walkaround operations. The current layout's predecessor, also
named CONUS Lines, was a modular layout that survived 11 cross-country
moves while Rick was on active duty, and has been featured in multiple
issues of Classic Toy Trains magazine since its debut in the November
2000 issue.
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CSX
East Rail
- The CSX East Rail is an HO
scale, 20' mainline, 9' x 9' prototype railroad set in
Miami, Florida ■
CSX East Rail is a modern era switching
layout based on the East Rail industrial park in Miami, Florida. The
layout was featured in Great Model Railroads 2008
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Cumberland
Shenandoah & Piedmont
- The Cumberland Shenandoah &
Piedmont is an
HO
scale, 220' mainline + branches, 13' x 17' + 4' x8' freelance railroad
set in the Mid-Atlantic Piedmont ■
The layout is a single track point to
point line with several passing areas and a connection for continuous
running. Featured items are an operating coal mine loader, operating
transfer table, and a 7.5 foot three-track double-cantilever bridge.
There are 17 bridges, many consisting of multiple spans. The layout was
originally designed by Rear Admiral Ken Wiman of the U.S. Coast Guard,
with DC multi-cab control and has been converted to DCC. There are many
detailed scenes throughout.
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Cumberland
Valley Railroad - Richmond Furnace
- The Cumberland Valley Railroad is an O
scale, 40' mainline, 11' x 23' prototype and freelance railroad set in
Franklin County, Pennsylvania ■
It's
O scale running small earlier steam — 1900-1920 — with scratchbuilt
wooden cars running over handlaid code 125 track and switches intended
to provide a feel of the CVRR spur that ran up into Richmond Furnace
that came off the mainline between Chambersburg and Greencastle.
Layout is very small — 11' x 13' — and will only accommodate 4 to 5
people at a time. Scenery is an ongoing and sporadic exercise
that continues to be pursued but track does run into and around
Lauther's Perfect Pickles and a few other recognizable
structures. Lower level is actually handlaid code 148 3-rail O
gauge which will not be in operation so we can take out the duckunder
for visitor convenience. The railroad basically represents a
small stretch of the Cumberland Valley RR that lived on as a branch
line running from Marion up through Lemasters into Metal. The
track plan is fundamentally a loop with numerous sidings, some
installed and others still under construction. The majority of
mainline track, yard, and switches are complete while sidings, scenery,
buildings, and details endlessly remain to be completed. Power
supply and control systems are all custom built. When we get
tired of stream we'll bring out the CC&W trolleys. When we
need a break from that we can get completely anachronistic with some
PRR diesel power. In addition to the layout being open, I'll
open up the workshop as well.
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Day
& Dean Railroad and Allisonville Short Line
- The HO scale Day & Dean Railroad
and the HOn3 Allisonville Short Line are an 8' by 9' around-the-room
freelance railroads set in the Eastern U.S. ■
The HO scale Day & Dean Railroad (D
& D) and the HOn3 Allisonville Short Line (Allie RR) rest on a
compact 8 x 9 foot shelf layout around the room. An unusual proscenium
arch guides the point of view, presenting the feeling of a stage drama.
The layout, freelanced and fully scenicked, depicts an Eastern railroad
in the 1940s, featuring fine scale animation (a coal mine, 2 bascule
bridges, coal tipple, engine house doors, ore bin, 2 coal elevators,
water tank, water plug, roll-up door, delivery truck and dump truck,
all operate). Animation, in many cases, also includes sound or light.
All turnouts are accompanied by signals. Superdetailing includes
fishplates on hand-laid rails. Most structures are scratchbuilt. On
display are models that have won local, regional, and national NMRA
contests. Counting shuttles, 11 locomotives move on the layout, 9
equipped with Soundtraxx. Control is by North Coast Engineering DCC and
Model Rectifier Corporation DC.
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Erie
Lackawanna-Scranton Division
- The Erie Lackawanna-Scranton
Division is an HO scale, 300' mainline, 26' x 34' prototype railroad
set in Scranton, Pennsylvania ■
The Erie Lackawanna climbed steep
grades
both east and west out of Scranton, PA. This 26 by 34 foot HO Scale
layout faithfully models the eastward climb to Pocono Summit and East
Stroudsburg in July 1975, and nearly all trains require helpers to make
the grade. Sound-equipped DCC locomotives help operators to feel the
struggle up the grade and NCE radio throttles let the train and helper
crews focus on getting the train to the summit. Two eleven-track
staging yards provide traffic, and the yards will be fed by the "Mole"
from an active fiddle yard. Two on-line yards and several on-line
industries provide operating interest beyond the mainline action, and
the under-construction Bloomsburg Branch will provide several
interchange points and additional industry. Turnouts are both
commercial and handlaid, using code 83 rail for the mainline and code
70 in the yards and industrial areas. The double-deck mainline and
staging yards are operational, and backdrops, fascia, and basic scenery
are under way.
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Franklin,Somerset & Kennebec Railway
- The Franklin,Somerset & Kennebec
Railway) is an On2 scale, 60' mainline, 16' x 26' freelance
railroad set in Maine ■
The On2 Franklin, Somerset &
Kennebec Railway represents a chartered but unbuilt central Maine two
foot gauge railroad designed to connect the Sandy River and Rangeley
Lakes Railroad at Farmington with the Wiscassett, Waterville and
Farmington Railway at Winslow. The Railway's operating
headquarters is located at New Sharon, east of Farmington., from which
a branch extends to the navigable portion of the Kennebec River. at
Gardner. The 16' x 26' layout is fully operational with
scenery 75% complete. The standard gauge Maine Central trackage
at the Farmington terminal is laid to Proto-48 standards.
Equipment on the railroad is a mixture of SR&RL and WW&F
prototypes, with some FS&K. Some locomotives are equipped
with PFM sound. The structures are a combination of kit and
scratch-built, with many copied from Maine prototypes. A 30' long
portable display layout depicting Rangeley, Maine on the SR&RL
circa 1915 will also be on display.
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Kristenville and Michelleville Railroad
- The Kristenville and Michelleville
Railroad (K.M.R.R) is an HO scale, 250' mainline, 20' x 30' plus 10'
x10' (double level) freelance railroad set in Pennsylvania ■
The Kristenville and Michelleville
Railroad started in early 1977 and was designed as a freelanced 1920's
era steam powered railroad. It serves a limestone quarry, Al's Brewery,
and the thriving towns of Divorce and Michelleville. Kristenville
serves as the main freight and passenger terminal. The Board of
Directors recognized the tremendous potential for logging production in
the surrounding mountains so a dual gauge HO/HOn3 line was built. The
K-M Sawmill was established and has thrived causing the need for two
large interchange areas for staging train operations. The very small
Michelleville line was incorporated into the K.M.R.R. along with the
Passwater Interchange facilities. Recent years have brought new life to
Divorce with expanded passenger services.
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Long
Island Railroad - Port Jefferson Branch
- The LIRR-Port Jefferson Branch
is an HO scale, 85' mainline, 13' x 19', prototype
railroad set on the North Shore of Long Island and in Manhattan, NY ■
The layout models
the Port Jefferson Branch of the Long Island Railroad from Port
Jefferson to Jamaica and then from Jamaica under the East River and
into the underground LIRR platforms at Penn Station. The time is 1964,
when the World's Fair was going on in Flushing Meadow and Barry
Goldwater was running against Lyndon Johnson. The suburbs of Long
Island's North Shore are modeled, as commuter trains carry commuters
from the suburbs into Jamaica. Passengers would then "change at
Jamaica" from the diesel hauled trains onto 3rd rail electric trains
that would carry them through the East River tunnel into Manhattan. The
hustle and bustle of Penn Station (including the underground LIRR
platforms), and Manhattan are modeled, including an operating overhead
El. The layout was started in 1988 and was the featured layout in the
September 1997 issue of Railmodel Journal. All of the engines and
passenger cars are correct models of the equipment run on the LIRR
during the mid 1960s. Operation is with Digitrax DCC and all of the
engines are sound equipped.
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Oregon
Coast Railroad
- The Oregon Railroad is an HO
scale, 150' mainline, 32' x 36', feeelance
railroad set in Oregon ■
The Oregon Coast
Railroad is a fictional transition era (Fall 1953) layout. Area modeled
follows the Columbia River from Portland to Astoria and then south
along the Pacific Coast to Tillamook. Modeled items include an ocean
port with a tramp steamer and car float, a large yard and engine
facility, a small river fishing town and a large lumber mill. Buildings
are craftsman kits or scratchbuilt. Scenery is more than 50% complete.
Radio Digitrax is used for the command system to allow walk-around
operations. The layout is designed for operations as well as scenic
effects. Operating sessions can accommodate 8-12 people using TT &
TO.
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O'Ryan
& Webb Railway
- The O'Ryan & Webb Railway is an
On30 scale, 120' mainline, 14' x 20' freelance railroad set in the
Western
U.S. ■
Under construction for 2 1/2 years, this small,
On30 layout is still
evolving as an old West (think horses, "Saloons" and bank holdups)
narrow-gauge. Geared loco's negotiate 5% grades and a switchback to
access the upper-tier mines and logging camp. The layout encircles a
room where the family can comfortably gather while grandpa and son
switch the stockyard, mining supply, dynamite sales, gun-running,
sawmill, coffin manufacturing, etc. "industries" as well as the Yuma
Territorial Prison car siding.. Approx. 250' of track and 40 plus Peco
turnouts. DCC is NCE PowerCab with Smart Booster. So far only the Mogul
and "Goose" are sound equipped. The Climax and Porter will be in due
course. Via Miller sound units, the honky tonk piano plays in the
Longbranch Saloon, cows moo at the stockyard, etc. Experimenting with
casting self-supporting (no hard shell) "Bragdon" rock mountainsides.
Some scratch-built water towers and buildings but most are mockups for
picking locations, sizes, etc.
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The
Penn Creek Valley
- The Penn Creek Valley is an S scale,
180' mainline, 25' x 15', prototype railroad
set in SW Pennsylvania ■
DCC with sound. Most track Hand laid.
Scenery 75% complete. Many scratch built structures. Many recent,
modern, laser kits built up. Hand painted backdrops. Layout room will
hold 12-15 people maximum. Plenty of flow over space. If weather is
nice, outside patio/deck with gazebo available. Must negotiate stairs
but no duckunders.
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Pennsylvania Electric Division
- The Pennsylvania Electric Division is
an O scale, 110' double track main line, plus 110 ft' single track
secondary route, 21' x 31', set in New Jersey and Pennsylvania ■
This 2 rail O scale layout is inspired
by, but not beholding to, the PRR Northeast Corridor, circa 1955.
The continuous loop based track plan is designed for watching trains
move through one of six scenes: These scenes are motivated by:
Trenton and the tracks leaving the station, the Schuykill River
stone arch bridge, Princeton NJ, The Trenton Cutoff,
a Truc-Train terminal, and Marysville, PA (I said "not beholding
to"). Eventually the entire main line will be under catenary.
"Eventually" is defined as when some manufacturer makes one available.
The track plan features 54" minimum radius curves, with most 57" and a
few over 200". The plan sacrifices maximum mainline length in favor of
a single deck design with more aisle width, more relaxed scenes, and
more room for visitors. The layout room is completely finished,
with the ceiling painted as part of the sky to add to the overall
spaciousness.
The Control system is either DCS (the MTH system developed first for
the three rail market) or TMCC (the Lionel system). Both allow
untethered walk around operations. All locomotives have speed
control, sound, and smoke. They are made by Atlas, Sunset, and MTH.
Rolling stock is from a variety of manufacturers. All track
and turnouts are Atlas O on Homasote road bed sitting on a subroad bed
made of pink insulation board on ¾" plywood.
The layout was started in June 2006 and is still well in the
construction phase. Most of the principal scenic elements in the
city and tracks leaving the city are finished. A few of
these are inspired by the works of Edward Hopper.
Click on
Photo to Enlarge
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Piedmont
Southern Railroad
- The Piedmont Southern Railroad is an
HO scale, 150'
mainline, 22' x 24' ,
freelance railroad set in the Blue Ridge mountains and the Shenandoah
Valley ■
The layout is about
90% sceniced and features mostly handlaid track and scratchbuilt or
kitbashed structures. My structures have won three first place
awards at MER conventions, two 'Blue Lantern' awards and two 'Best in
Show' awards. A photo tour of the
layout has been accepted by Model Railroader for future
publication. About half of the layout features the main and a
branchline of the Piedmont Southern passing through the Shenandoah
Valley while the other half has it passing through the mountains to the
west. There it serves several coal mines. Much of the coal
is transported to a river barge facility while the remainder goes to
online customers and off-line via staging. The entire layout
represents the summer of 1955 except for the branch to
Shenandoah. As you travel down the branch the the colder it gets
as the scenery transistions from summer to fall to early winter. There
are thousands of trees covering the mountains. They are all made from
natural growths (weeds) with a few "Super Trees" used here and there.
The backdrop is handpainted. Scenery is my favorite part of the
hobby and is the highlight of the layout. The layout operates
with timetable and train orders.
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Piermont Division
- The Piermont Division is an HO scale,
1400'+ mainline, 2850 sq. ft. freelance railroad
set in the Appalachians ■
22+ scale miles of floor to ceiling
scenery. All locos are DCC(NCE) and sound equipped. Many rivers and
waterfalls. Plasterless scenery construction using red rosin paper
(glue shell). Wide aisles . . . have had up to 100 visitors at a time.
Photos allowed and encouraged. Most structures are scratch built
from original designs. All rolling stock is kit built.
Locos are die cast or brass including several MTH locos with
smoke. Very strict on security. All visitors must sign
guest book and be part of MER program. No coats, hand bags, any
kind of box or bag allowed, or loose clothing. This is due to a
very costly recent theft. Layout has been published many times
and three Allen Keller videos have been done on the Piermont.
Also a book has been written about the layout. We always have
refreshments available. I'll be glad to answer any
questions. Layout will be operating. Scenery and
electronics are complete.
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Prince
William Model Railroad Club
- The Prince William Model Railroad Club
hosts an HO
scale,
freelance
railroad set in Virginia and West Virginia. The layout is housed
in the former baggage room of the Quantico, VA Depot ■
Our layout is in
the "South Room" of the Quantico, VA Depot. This room was at one
time
the Railway Express Agency baggage room. The Depot was built in
the early 1950s, replacing a previous structure. In the fifties
passenger service was provided by the Richmond, Fredericksburg and
Potomac Railroad. Today the Depot is a stop for commuters using
the Virginia Railway Express and
Amtrak.
Our layout combines locales in our area such as Quantico and the bridge
over Powell Cteek with
more fanciful areas such as Armstrong, Allen,
Hawck's Nest, Cooper's Holler, Dillinger and more. The railroad
is well along on scenery and provides many photo opportunities.
PLEASE NOTE: The town of Quantico, VA is located entirely within
Marine Corps Base Quantico and you must show photo ID at the gate to
enter.
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