Hi, almost 10 years later I wondered if you ever got around to writing a detailed article about the mini-tour train layout.
I remember the "Mini-tour". I was there twice, my father took me. I think it was around 1957. It was on rt 309 near quakertown. We went with a neighbor who also loved american flyer trains and had a fairly large layout. We lived in philly at the time. I remember at lot about it. There was a two track mainline around the perimeter of the layout with broad sweeping curves. On the north end of the layout, there was a huge mountain where the mainline would exit on to a large bride over real water. There was a mechanical relay driven block system on each loop with many trains starting and stopping. You could press a button to stop the next train at a station. It would stop for a few seconds and then start running again. All the trains down the line would obey signal to prevent collison. The track system was tru-scale, with scale scenary throughout. I remember seeing all american flyer trains on the layout, all with knuckle couplers, and specific locos 293, 326, and 336. One loop appeared to have passenger trains and the other fairly long freights. Don't remember seeing any diesels on the layout, but there was a large counter area where trains were sold. There ww as a silver rocket and a silver flash passenger set on the wall that day. When the layout was dismantled, the equipment and track was provided to a boys orphanage nearly for the boys to play with. In the early 70s, when the boys lost interest, a train store in croyden, PA, bought the trains from the orphanage. I bought some of the trains and track and still have them and cherish them. I think about mini tour often, and hope to write a detailed article about it someday.
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