Lavis Junction Railroad

[Lemosteam]

First, I'd like to take the time to state how the the Lavis Junction Railroad came into my possession. A short time ago I met a new acquaintance at work, Mr. Brendan Lavis.  He is an avid Lionel and tinplate collector as well as a garden railroader. We discussed model railroading once in a while where I shared my n scale endeavors with him. He had shown me pictures of the layout that he had shared with his grandchildren, and showed me some of his rolling stock.

In a surprise offer of incredible generosity from Brendan, the layout is now mine.

A birds-eye view:


As a small token of return, I wish to document the Lavis Junction RR here on TRW, share my boys' excitement with it and hopefully preserve its history.

Brendan commissioned the layout from a person hailing from Palmyra, PA, named John Cassel. He is a custom layout builder of 600+ layouts. His company's name is Scale Model Railroads, and he has kindly allowed me to share this info.



So I finally have a layout to run and take pictures of my equipment.  I plan on making some minor changes, while preserving the layout's history and intent.

I will be mounting it to a wall by piano hinge so I can raise and lower the layout for use.  I will also be making a unique backdrop for better pics.

Hopefully I will have a little more history, design and construction and a track plan soon.

[Rich_S]

Very nice. I see two power packs but do not see a control panel? I'm guessing one power pack controls the inside mainline and the second power pack controls the outside mainline? On a side note, good thing you trimmed your toenails before taking the photos   

[Lemosteam]

Very nice. I see two power packs but do not see a control panel? I'm guessing one power pack controls the inside mainline and the second power pack controls the outside mainline? On a side note, good thing you trimmed your toenails before taking the photos   

LOL!  I suppose I should photoshop that out along with my belly!

Yes one power pack is for the inside loop and one for the outside.  I plan on adding a crossover for a little more versatility between the loops.  The front panel is the control panel.  Atlas switch controls and a third pwerpack (belly hides it) controls the small trolley oval in the middle.

Here is another shot, showing a little more of the front fascia having the controls:


The center controller is a touchy thing, allowing the operator to lever between forward and reverse without a direction switch.  That IS NOT another toenail on the right, it is my middle offspring. 

The pink foam cover in the background is how I got it home in my open bed pickup truck.

[chicken45]

Is there an Ed's Law for that pink backdrop sky? 

[tappertrainman]

Is there an Ed's Law for that pink backdrop sky? 

https://www.bing.com/images/search?pq=sunset&sc=8-6&sp=-1&sk=&q=sunset&qft=+filterui:color2-FGcls_PINK&FORM=R5IR15

[Chris333]

John,

What ever happened to the PRR switching layout?

[Lemosteam]

John,

What ever happened to the PRR switching layout?

As a matter of fact... I've been in collection mode again.  I just bought a bunch of structures for it, and cleaned it off. I'm going to follow you leads for your flats and perspective streets. 

I still have not found a good solution for making my berm wall caps and I need those before I can finish them. I'll restart that layout soon.  Actually, I appreciate the fact you remembered!

This gift has restarted the spark.

[Lemosteam]

I now have Lavis Junction Railroad mounted on a shelf with hinges. The layout weighs about fifty pounds, but my oldest son is able to lift it up against the wall.  The shelf is about 12" wide so that when the layout is up all of the buildings are about two inches away from the wall and about one inch with overtravel.

Here is the shelf:



Here is the layout mounted to the shelf with hinges:





Here is the layout in the up position, should make wiring accessibility reasonable.



Here is a pic of the clearance to the wall.  I added bumpers to restrict overtravel just in case:



I need to add hooks and check chains to hang it from the ceiling when unfolded, that's next.

[chicken45]

I think it looks better when it is unfolded. 

[Jeff AKA St0rm]

Might be hard to run train standing up like that. Although MR Magazine had an April fool article about trains that ran on the ceiling with magnets. You might look into that 

[Blazeman]

Do you know if the builder (John Cassel) is the same person who is always at Timonium? I recall him being from the Harrisburg area and the builder plate showing his location in Palmyra follows to some extent.  Usually has a table in the main room, at the right rear. Last time I was there, he was letting all know his layout building work was over and was selling inventory of parts, track, rolling stock, power and such.

[Lemosteam]

Blazeman, Brendan Lavis knew him and met him at the York, PA shows (although I do not think John goes there any longer), and likely Timonium too.  I have never been to either.  I did speak with John before I published this, nice fellow and was very gracious about me writing this.  He also mentioned that he remembered the layout but not the layout plan.

[Lemosteam]

The Polar Express (part of it anyway) visits the Lavis Junction RR!

Man this layout needs a scenic backdrop!