Joel Morse’s N-Scale layout in Garden Grove, CA, will be open to tour this Saturday as part of a free tour of three model railroad layouts.
Joel’s New York, Ontario & Western Railway traversed the dairy lands of the Catskill Mountains in upstate New York and the rich Pennsylvania coal fields around Scranton, until abandonment in 1957. At one time the O&W was one of the region’s heaviest haulers of milk and dairy products to the New York City area, as well as a large anthracite hauler.
This approximately 120 square foot U-shaped N scale layout models the main line up and over the rolling hills surrounding the rural towns of Walton, Merrickville and Sidney, along with the Delhi Branch, in the spring of 1955. As modeled the line is a bit more prosperous and successful than in the real world O&W and is unlikely to be abandoned in just two years time. The line ships dairy products, coal, bluestone, farm products, produce, wood chemical products and a variety of manufactured goods, including magnetos from the famous Scintilla Works in Sidney, to points to the southeast and northwest.
The layout is point to point designed for operation, with continuous running capability using Code 80 Atlas track and hand thrown Peco turnouts (with Hex Frog Juicers) and Digitrax DCC. Seven staging tracks behind one backdrop represent the off-line connections; three tracks for stations and connections to the East, including an interchange with the New Haven and the end of the line at Weehawken, New Jersey, with car float service across the Hudson River to New York City. Three additional staging tracks represent stations and connections to the West, including interchanges with the DL&W and the NYC, before the line reaches the coal docks at Lake Ontario. The seventh staging track provides interchange with the D&H in the Sidney yard, where the two lines crossed. Operation sessions utilize the car card (with pictures) and waybill system along with prototype inspired Form 19s and Schedule to keep the trains moving.
Local trains include ten to twelve cars headed by first generation diesel power originating in the Walton yard, including the Delhi Branch Turn and Delhi Coal Turn, both behind NW 2 or SW 1500 (due to weight restrictions), and the Sidney Turn, behind a pair of F3 A units, all in O&W livery. Through trains originate from staging in both directions behind O&W FT A/B sets or with connecting road power, complicating local crew efforts.
The first layer of scenery, including rolling hills and rock faces (hand carved or from home made molds), roads and structures compliment the hand painted backdrop. Maggie’s Farm outside Walton is well enough along to be a favorite of visitors, as are the High Bridge at Sidney, the coal trestle in Delhi and the Cooperative Dairy (a Northeast Scale Model). The freight depot at Delhi is scratch built model of the prototype.
Here is information about the whole tour:
Model Railroads of Southern California’s thirty-second layout tour takes place this Saturday, May 19. This will be a self-guided tour of three layouts in west Orange County. Joel Morse’s layout is appearing for the first time on the group’s tour program.
By scale there will be two HO scale layouts and one N scale layout. This will be the third and final Orange County layout tour of 2012.
This is a free event and you may bring relatives and friends.
The Layouts
Marty Bradley (HO)
10:00 to 7:00
11802 Davenport Road, Los Alamitos
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Bob Grech (HO)
10:00 to 5:00
17302 Elm Street, Fountain Valley
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Joel Morse (N)
12:00 to 5:00
11891 Tunstall Street, Garden Grove
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Persons taking this tour assume all risks and liability for their personal safety. Although I am the Moderator of this group, I am not responsible for personal loss or injury to those taking this tour.
Be sure to check the Model Railroads of Southern California website the day before the tour to see if any changes to the schedule or layout lineup have occurred.
If you would like layout descriptions and an area map with the locations of all three layouts, e-mail me directly at:
chiefbobbb@verizon.net
If you cannot make this tour, more tours are scheduled including two San Diego County tours on July 14 and August 11 and tours in the Central California Coast and Ventura-Santa Barbara-Northwest L.A. County this fall. A Kern County tour is schedule for March 2013 as is a tour in conjunction with the National Narrow Gauge Convnetion.
Bob Chaparro
Moderator
Model Railroads of Southern California
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Model_Railroads_Of_Southern_California/P.S.: I have established a special promotion with the Train Crossing hobby shop in Costa Mesa that will be available ONLY to persons who take the tour and ONLY on the day of the tour. Coupons will be available at one or two layouts good for a ten percent discount on all stock (excluding sale items) in the store. No coupons will be available at the Train Crossing.
This is similar to the Mile Post 38 promotion last week.
