Penn Central on two doors...

[GP38-2freak]

I got space in our (dry) basement and after measuring I came up that I could use two doors (5,9' x 2,9') L-shaped.
The last time I bought rolling stock from the PRR,PC,Conrail and N&W so I think that I should throw away my plans of a big western layout handling 50+ unit coal trains with 4-6 locos on the head...
I thought to use Kato Unitrack because I also want to run older equipment which, as some told me,should'nt run good on Code55 (older Atlas/Kato or Kato units for example).
I got my ideas from two books published by Morning Sun books, "Penn Central in Color", Pt.1 & Pt.2...I have yet no idea how it will look but I have some priorities like single track mainline and built for operation, the trackplan...well, I like Dave Vollmers' Layout very much so it will give me surely influences...but if someone like trackplanning 

Tim

[MichaelWinicki]

I'm always pleased to hear of someone building an N-scale pike themed around the greatest railroad ever.

But of course I'm biased because I have a PC themed pike.

Kidding aside I think you could build a kick-butt layout on two-doors.  The great thing about the PC is the variety of equipment you can run combined with lots of great late-19th/early-20th century architecture that was still around in 1970 but has since been destroyed. 

Plus your trains will have a caboose (or is it cabin ) at the end which is one of those things that makes a train a train.   

Please start a thread in the layout area so we can follow the progress!  I'm anxious to see one of those big Alco C630's leading one of your trains. 

[FrankCampagna]

Sounds great. Great variety of motive power options. And almost all used. Many cars available. Most cabooses available. (Have to go with brass kits for the ex-NYC bay windows, though).  I'm doing the NYC main line across upstate NY (A MR door layout of the line was the basis of Dave Vollmer's layout.) Will probably throw a PC presence in there if the budget allows. Best of luck.

[Wlal13again]

I back date to 1975 and run my PC stuff..you got to love all that diversity..

[Kisatchie]

I back date to 1975 and run my PC stuff..you got to love all that diversity..

Uh oh, Dee's asking for trouble.


Hmm... love all that
diversified junk...

[Dave V]

A little inspiration for ya...   

[Dave Schneider]

Now how can that be the PC? Heavy duty rail, impeccable deep ballast, nicely aligned ties, and all of the equipment apparently on the rails?
Really? 

Best wishes, Dave

[LV LOU]

Now how can that be the PC? Heavy duty rail, impeccable deep ballast, nicely aligned ties, and all of the equipment apparently on the rails?
Really? 

Best wishes, Dave

LOL!! Yeah,not even a single piece of plywood on the side of that E8..LOL!! I love PC.If I were gonna strictly model PC,I would go for the northeast in 1972,after the flood..You can run any pre-CR train/locomotive on it them,because of the tracks that were knocked out by Agnes,and sharing of rails to get the job done.Oh,wait a minute,that is what I'm modeling..

[GP38-2freak]

A little inspiration for ya...   

thank you Dave...but it was not only this picture, one or two years ago there was a thread on the old Atlas Forum named "I am penn-centralized"...one week after that I got an MTL 40' boxcar and after that NYC boxcars from Bachmann...which have been sold since then...
Okay, planning...I'm still looking for an area with single track running, small yards and eventually street running like the PC did in Burlington,PA on the Bordentown Branch between Trenton and Camden (remember, I'm from germany who never has been in one of these places ever  so I'll have to work with the help from books and via the internet)
Tomorrow I will go shopping some unitrack and foam...and PC decals 

regards
Tim

[mmagliaro]

If your "older" equipment is nothing older than early Atlas/Kato or early Kato, it should run fine on code 55.
I have some 1st generation Kato F3's and the first-generation Atlas/Kato RS-11, all of which have fine enough
flanges to run on Atlas code 55.   Even the early RS-3 has fine enough flanges for code 55.
 If you want to use Unitrack for other reasons, great.  But
if that's the only reason you are using Unitrack, I don't think you have to.

[mrp]

You could model the PC Bel-Del (Belvidere & Delaware) branch, which ran from Trenton, NJ to Belvidere, NJ. It is single track with nice scenery and is fairly low key. While Trenton is too big to model, the other towns are fairly small. There is a good interchange at Phillipsburg, NJ, so you can incorporate some other roads. There are also a couple of books out about the Bel-Del, though at this date you will have to hunt for them. It is a low-key branch

If your tastes run towards a lot of local switching, the Bel-Del is not a good choice. There are a lot of other choices; it mostly depends on what you like (coal, chemicals, general freight, etc.). PC had lots of lightly used branches that would work in the available space. You probably want to avoid most major PC mainlines, as the 85 - 89 foot cars that were common would likely overwhelm your space.
There was some mainline street running in the Midwest, mostly in Indiana I think. You would have more options for street running in an urban environment, with trains being mainly locals.
 I’m sure some of the other forum members could come up with some ideas as to location.

Good luck!

Mike Pennie

[conrail98]

I live near the Bordentown Secondary and ride it most every day to and from work on the RiverLine. There are a few others of us here in SJ that could probably pull information for you too if need be,

Phil

[DKS]

Okay, planning...I'm still looking for an area with single track running, small yards and eventually street running like the PC did in Burlington,PA on the Bordentown Branch between Trenton and Camden (remember, I'm from germany who never has been in one of these places ever  so I'll have to work with the help from books and via the internet)

Having grown up around these areas, I might be able to pick out some spots to model. Others will likely offer their picks, and together we can come up with a good plan, I'm sure.

[conrail98]

I wonder if going from the street running from Burlington up through the small yard in Burlington to the mills in Burlington, Florence and/or Roebling would give you what you'd want,

Phil

[GP38-2freak]

Wow, this sounds fantastic and I found some nice pictures of the "Bel-Del" in Morning Suns' book "Penn Central in Color", part 2 on pages 94-95 showing winter 1974.
Thanks to mmagliaro for the information on older Atlas/Kato locos, I have bought some Atlas code 55 track (only some lenghts of flextrack and two turnouts)
As Mike (mrp) mentioned I want to avoid using long equipment like 89 foot flats or boxcars longer than 60 foot, my longest engines will be SD40/SD45s and U30C plus a single Alco C630.
Track planning I'll have to look through the internet for more information