The Beaver County Model Railroad is an HO scale layout. While it doesn't model any particular prototype, it is designed to represent much of Western Pennsylvania's rich railroading history and associated industries. The layout features both conventional DC and Digitrax DCC and is located in a former Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad station.
The "Pittsburgh Mainline" is an HO scale layout representing Conrail's Pittsburgh Division between Pittsburgh and Johnstown and is set in the early 1980's. It features a 160 foot long two track mainline with two hidden "through" staging yards to allow continuous loop operation. Benchwork is 90% complete and scenery is 5% finished. It interchanges with the Chessie System, Union Railroad, and the Allegheny Valley Railroad. Major industries include the USS Edgar Thompson Works, Clairton Coke Works, the USS Irvin Works, Pennelec's Conemaugh generation station, and Westinghouse Electric's East Pittsburgh plant. Several highly accurate models of railroad overpasses are featured on the layout. The layout occupies two rooms; one is 13' X 25' and the other is 16' X 20'.
Brian's HOn3 layout depicts a mythical connection between the East Broad Top and Tuscarora Valley Railroads. The layout is set near the town of East Waterford in the heart of Pennsylvania's Appalachian Mountains. This 15' X 20' layout is set in the early 1900's.
This spectacular and highly unusual indoor G scale layout portrays the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad and highlights the steel industry. The railroad is 55' X 75' and has 1400 feet of track and roughly 45 switches. The layout is fully sceniced and features many scratchbuilt structures. Because the future of the layout is uncertain, now is the time to see this one of a kind model railroad.
The Pacific Central is an HO proto-freelanced railroad located in Northern California during the 1950's. The concept is that the Central Pacific didn't acquire the Southern Pacific and the Western Division was built by the Pacific Central instead. Operational features will include many SP trains interchanging with Pacific Central traffic. There is significant passenger traffic to keep the operators on their toes. The layout was started just over 6 years ago and we celebrated our Golden Spike in November 2019. The layout uses Digitrax DCC for control and RR Circuits products for block detection, signals and switch controls.
The Pittsburgh Southern is a modern, freelanced route of the Norfolk Southern, running south out of Pittsburgh towards the mid-Atlantic. Traffic consists of a mix of locals, transfers, and mainline through trains. Most of the trackwork is completed to allow for operating sessions, and there are plans to extend the second deck in the future. The 240-foot mainline runs point-to-point with several branches for switching. There is minimal scenery completed at this time, however the layout is now fully signaled. Layout control is via DCC with NCE.
The D.A.R.E. Club features layouts in HO, N, O, and G scales. There are three 3 HO layouts. Two are mainly for the student members of the club and are DC operated. One sits inside of the "donut hole" of a modular HO layout. A third HO layout replicates the Montour Railroad and is DCC operated. It is a point to point layout, representing the prototype as it existed in the 1970's. The O scale layout features Lionel and MTH trains and is operated with DCS. It has 3 loops and several yards and sidings. There are 2 additional small O scale layouts. The G scale layout consists of two loops with a siding and a separate track with a doodlebug that runs point to point. Finally, the Montour Railroad Historical Society displays photographs and artifacts of the Montour RR on the second floor of the school.
The HO scale Glyndale & Davidton is a short line set in the late spring of 1978. It interchanges with B&O, WM, and the West Virginia and Lake Erie, a paper road that follows the old Coal and Coke from Charleston up through West Virginia. Traffic is mostly coal with some traffic for local manufacturing. First generation Geeps and F units share the rails with the latest "Dash Two" models from LaGrange. The G&D features the well-known HA Tower scene from the late Don Cassler's "M&K Division of the B&O". Integrated into the G&D in late 2016, this scene is mostly as Don and his team built it circa 1980.
The name of Bob's railroad is The Midwest RR. It is a switching layout that has a continuous run and includes a branch line which serves about a dozen industries. It is approximately 6'x20' and is fully sceniced. One of the walls in the layout room includes a large display of Bob's rolling stock.
Rob's magnificent O scale layout portrays the Monongahela Division of the Penn Central (ex-PRR) as it appeared in 1970. The layout is approximately 600 sq. feet and most of the scenery is completed. The track is handlaid and many of the structures are scratchbuilt. A notable feature is the assemblage of fully wired telegraph poles along the right of way. The layout has been featured in Great Model Railroads, Model Railroad Planning, and O Scale Trains.
In addition to Rob's 2 rail scale layout, Rob has built a Postwar Lionel Layout using Super O track in an adjacent room, and this too will be open to layout tour attendees. Rob has a large collection of postwar Lionel trains and accessories. The layout circles the room and runs between the display shelves. It will bring back childhood memories for those of you who started off with Lionel trains.
The Plum Creek Railroad is an HO scale 12' x 16' "C" shaped fictional freelance short line model railroad set in 1968. A 2.8 scale mile single track mainline connects North Bessemer and Saltsburg through Export, and a branch line runs from Murrysville, through Export to Jeanette. The layout is built and designed for the operations and running of trains, servicing industries located along the main and branch lines. Along with car cards and way bills, a block system using DC controllers power the trains. Scenery on the layout is about 85% complete, with operations for 1 to 5 operators that began in February 2004.
Ken's Turtle Creek Railroad is a freelanced HO layout with three branch lines and features lots of local switching with an incredible 189 industrial spurs in 800 sq. feet. Train control is by DCC. The layout is fully signaled and has about 900 freight cars.
Vagel's HOn3 Blacklog & Shade Gap Eastern is an historically freelanced extension of the prototype East Broad Top set in southcentral Pennsylvania during peak Fall foliage sometime during the pre-World War Two years. It occupies most of a 17x11x21-ft U-shape layout, which it shares with an abridged version of the Pennsylvania Railroad’s Cumberland Valley Branch in a first-floor studio-type apartment. Operations center on a small blast furnace served by both railroads, with a long branch line to mountain-top iron ore mines, daily coal turns for the coke ovens, and mixed freight and passenger service. Colorado prototype steam powers the narrow gauge, while the standard gauge sees Pennsy power typical for pre-WW2 branch lines and occasional steam-to-diesel era "time machine" trains in all their Pennsy glory. Trackwork is complete, scenery - with hand-painted mountain backdrops - is about half done, and train control is wireless Digitrax.
Anthony's O scale layout is intended as a depiction of Conrail in the Western Pennsylvania-Eastern Ohio region. Motive power is mainly Conrail diesel power, with incursions of Pittsburgh & Lake Erie, Buffalo & Pittsburgh, and CSX locomotives. The track design is a folded dog bone including a seven track yard on the main level, and a hidden staging yard. The layout features a realistic signal system with PRR-style position light signals governing the double-track mainline and interlockings. The layout is designed for operation using command control.
This HO layout models the B&O between Grafton and Terra Alta, WV, 1977-1978. It has 4 scale miles of double track main line with three grades, the steepest being Cranberry grade at 2.5% and requiring helpers. The towns of Grafton, Irontown, Hardman, Independence, Newburg, West End, Tunnelton, Rowlesburg and Terra Alta are currently or will be modeled. The layout is double decked and point to point with a staging yard at each end. Trackwork is a combination of handlaid, Central Valley, and Micro Engineering track laid on Homabed and composite roadbed.
The McKeesport Model Railroad Club, home of the 2200 sq. feet Mon Yough Valley RR., will celebrate it’s 75th anniversary in 2025. The layout is Full DCC with the double track mainline being a DC/DCC Hybrid system that has custom built circuity that works with Digitrax system. The mainline can be cut over from DCC to 25 individual DC MRC Powerpacks. This allows the club members the ability to be able to run any type of motive power on the mainline. The layout is bi-directionally signaled. The signaling system works in DC or DCC mode. The club uses JMRI for dispatching during Operating Sessions.
Arley's railroad is named the CL&W. It is based on a real subdivision of the B&O that ran out of Wheeling to and headed to Cleveland. In real life it cut around Beech City Ohio. The coal business is alive and well on the railroad and there are 2 active mines. Steel is also a big generator of traffic on the CL&W. There is also a refinery to switch and a slag plant that takes the waste product out of the blast furnace. The railroad also features a hidden helix. The features point to point operation and a double track mainline. Scenery is about 30% complete. Control is NCE DCC. Operations utilize a dispatcher and a tower operator when there are enough people to fill all of the positions.
Dave's highly entertaining O gauge layout features Union Pacific big steam, early diesels, and long trains. The layout measures 28' by 32', and the scenery is fully completed. Some of the highlights of the layout are several large trestles, a 28' long commercial district, and an 8 track yard. The layout has been featured in the model railroad press.
The Ohio Valley Lines is located in Ambridge, a few short blocks from Old Economy Village in the Ambridge Historic District. We have two scale model railroads, a library of railroad materials (by appointment only) and a museum of prototype railroad items. The HO and N Scale model railroads depict industry and life in the upper Ohio River Valley in a period from 1940 to 1965. The members provide most of the motive power and rolling stock, hence the broad era. The HO scale railroad has been under construction since 2000 and is virtually complete. The N scale railroad has been under construction for approximately 8 years and is also essentially finished.
This O scale layout depicts the Pennsylvania Railroad’s Panhandle Division circa 1952. The centerpiece is the 12’ double track cantilever through truss bridge across the Ohio River between Steubenville, OH and Weirton, WV. Although under construction, the bridge, backdrop, 40% of the benchwork, and some scenery have been installed. The track plan is a folded dog bone that features the cities of Steubenville and Weirton as well as a staging yard. Additional features planned are Weirton Steel, Weirton Junction, and Standard Slag. Motive power is mainly Pennsy steam (M1a, I1s, K4s, L1s). Signals are PRR style position lights. The layout is designed for operations using Trainmaster Command Control (TMCC).
The freelanced HO Huntingdon Northern Railway depicts a railroad connecting those two cities in the year 1962. This 24' X 26' layout depicts prototypical operations, and is typically run by 8 to 11 operators. Scenery is fully completed.
The museum and model railroad features five different displays in five different scales (HO, N, O, Z, and G). The main display is an HO scale layout set in the early 1900's. It depicts the busy waterfront industries, hotels, and houses that lined the banks of the Ohio and Beaver Rivers near Rochester, PA. The HO layout features steam era locomotives of the Pennsylvania Railroad and many structures representative of the prototype including a highly detailed model of the H. C. Fry Glass Company. The model actually features authentic 110 year old glass produced by the company.
Neal's O scale layout portrays the Middle Division of the Pennsylvania Railroad and its successor railroads between Harrisburg and Altoona as it appeared between the 1930's through today. The layout "ages" as it progresses from east to west allowing for the depiction of many eras. The highpoints of the layout are the highly realistic scenery and backdrop, signal system, and close adherence to civil engineering practices. The layout has frequently appeared in the model railroad press, including Great Model Railroads 2022, Model Railroad Planning, and Kalmbach’s "How To" series.
Curated by the Pittsburgh S Gaugers, the Penn Creek Valley is a large freelanced layout designed to suggest the landscapes and industries of southwestern Pennsylvania in the approximate era of 1950-1962. Built by the late Sam Powell of Gaithersburg, Maryland, the layout was disassembled and moved to Dawson in 2016 after Mr. Powell's premature death. This is a fully scale (not hirail) layout in S scale and features a variety of commercial, kit, and scratchbuilt locomotives, rolling stock, and structures. It operates on a Digitrax command control system. The layout has been featured in Model Railroader and Classic Toy Trains.
Larry's railroad, the "OHIO RIVER SOUTHERN RAILWAY" does not represent any particular railroad or time period, although the theme is basically modern railroading. There are no steam engines. The ORSRy is a 10' x 6' N scale layout built using KATO track and turnouts and is controlled using Digitrax DCC. The railroad goes through and around a wall between my living room and dining room. One side of the wall represents a big city and the other side is more country. Operation is mostly main line running although I have built in a yard and some industry to allow for some switching operations. My main interest is being able to create a scene that people will say, "That looks so real."