Pennsy Schuylkill Division

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CEO Rick Balassaitis
City, Country Deptford
State/Prov NJ
Scale
N  
Name of Layout Pennsy Schuylkill Division

“Smoke Along the River II Name:Rick Balassaitis Scale:N Layout size:18’ x 19’ “L” shaped RR Name:Pennsy Schuylkill Division Era:1950s Control:DC Cab Control Contact: rick773@hotmail.com
I was fascinated by a photo showing Carl Appel’s Norfolk & Ohio model railroad in the November 1958 issue of Model Railroader and I spent the next 40 years doodling track plans to incorporate his “Smoke Along the River” scene. After raising a family, I finally constructed a permanent 4’ x 8’ layout in 1998. Eight years later I began a 5’ x 19’ extension that would include the Smoke Along the River scene.

Throttled down, it can take the Sharks about 10 minutes to transverse the scale 3 mile mainline run on the new addition. (The original layout operates as a branch.) Four interchanges exist with the Reading, B&O & NYC. A card order system has been created but is not in use yet. The grades are between 1 to 2%. A pair of sharks easily handles the routine 35 car freight trains. Six staging tracks (each can hold up to 2 trains) are incorporated into the mainline. The main “island” yard (still not wired) holds well over 100 freight cars and can be worked from both ends.

I have a long way to go (roads, trees, buildings, finish wiring, etc.). This will be a fictional division of the Pennsylvania Railroad that winds along the Schuylkill River north from Philadelphia heading towards Allentown, PA. Since it is fictional, I can cheat some (see the Y6b’s but note that the Pennsy did borrow six Y3s from the N&W around WWI.)

The pre-2009 pictures were taken with an inexpensive Nikon 4 megapixel digital camera and the later ones with an inexpensive Canon 8 megapixel camera.

Comments are welcomed (just be nice!).

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Smoke Along the River 50 years later.jpg
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View Looking West.jpg
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Layout Size 18' x 19' "L"
Era & Place 1950s
Control type DC Cab
Prototype Pennsylvania RR
Contact rick773@hotmail.com
Motive Power - Steam 15
Motive Power - Diesel 94
Trolleys, RailCars, Other 6
Rolling Stock 853/73
Alco with Perishables.jpg
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PA vs C-liner beauty contest - PA wins.jpg
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View from the refinery.jpg
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Skuylkill River Yard.jpg
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Haven Tower.jpg
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Sharks Along the Banks.jpg
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DSCN7544.jpg
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View Looking NorthEast.jpg
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View Looking South.jpg
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View.N.0712a.jpg
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View.NE.0712d.jpg
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View.SW.0712a.jpg
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View.W.0712b.jpg
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The original 4' x 8' portion of the layout can be seen to the left of View W 0712b and in View Looking NE.
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RS3s and SD7 at Haven Tower.jpg
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DSCN7574.jpg
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The bench work is all “L” girder construction. The scenery is a corrugated cardboard strip web, glue-gunned together, covered in shopping bags and hydrocal coated paper towels. Woodland Scenics materials cover the shell. 2,000+ polyfiber trees give the eastern mountains a forested look. I originally used Woodland Scenics green polyfiber but have since switched to Micro Mark black polyfiber.

The rivers are a matte medium with acrylic paints. In person, they appear almost totally black. Fortunately the camera picks up the blue portion of the coloring.

Working alone, progress is slow. There are many times I wish I had coupler and wiring people to tap for help. Being partially colorblind doesn’t help either.

The next big question will be what to do with the layout when I move out & downsize in another year or two.

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4x8.jpg
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