5: EC-11 has come to a stop and Decapod #4668 will
be added behind the cabin car.
SE-32 is safely in the siding, you are cleared all the way to
Conway Yard, so you can pass through the town of Summit
without stopping.
The Summit stationmaster waves as your locomotive thunders
past. After more open-country running, you complete your run
over the Pennsylvania & Western, and tie up in Conway Yard,
having negotiated three long Warren truss bridges, two plate
girder bridges, a steel trestle, a curved wooden trestle, and
several tunnels in about five scale miles of main line.
This kind of action happens regularly in my basement. My
Pennsylvania & Western RR is a large layout, measuring 28 by
52 feet, with a 10' by 12' extension that houses my version of
Horseshoe Curve. The overall dimensions of the visible layout
are thus 40 by 52 feet.
Pennsylvania & Western RR - 4
5
Staging yards representing Harrisburg, Enola Yard, the
Petersburg branch, Pittsburgh, Conway Yard and Shire Oaks
Yard are housed in an adjoining 8' by 18' room. Harrisburg/
Enola/Petersburg consists of six staging return loops (each lon-
ger than the longest passing siding on the railroad) and three
shorter stub-end tracks. Pittsburgh/Conway/Shire Oaks has a
nearly identical arrangement, except with two stub-end tracks,
and is stacked directly on top of Harrisburg with 16 inches
between levels.
The mainline from Harrisburg to Pittsburgh is three times
around the basement for a total run of 550 feet, which is five
miles in O scale. The Cumberland branch terminates in six more
staging tracks located under the scenery. In total, there are
about 1800 feet of track on the layout, and over 125 turnouts.
6: EC-11 is passing Val Tower in West Valley.West Valley is
home to a farm and fuel supply company, a metal drum com-
pany, a team track, REA track and a creamery.
6
MRH-Mar 2014
