In 1996 Dave Frary buildt this railraod. They did a book on it. What happened to it. Did Model railroader raffle it off or what?
I think that it was owned by a private modeler, Jim Dennigan (sp?) for awhile. I believe that he may have since sold it.
Eric
Jim Denigan owns and has added to it over the years. Jimmys website is here. It was a basket case when he bought it from someone in Florida. Him, Scott Mason, Dave Frary and Doug Foscale have brought it back to life.
http://www.railroadkits.com/store/
FOS and Jimmy recently produced a DVD on the layout, it's pretty good IMHO
"The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination."-Albert Einstein
http://gearedsteam.blogspot.com/
I also remember reading about the layout in either MR or MRH the online magazine. There was a fairly recent (for me that's last 5 years) layout visit. The owner has had a lot of help putting the layout back together and expanding it. He seems to be quite happy with it.
Was that Denigan or the previous owner, who I recall seeing an article about and who had several of the old MR project layouts? As I recall it was a nicely done up display area, and the layouts were all in good shape. Or maybe someone completely different.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
Interesting info. Thanks to all.
The layout is alive and well, and as said, expanded. It is also now covered with craftsman type structures. Jimmy, the owner, owns a number of craftsman kit manufactures and the layout shows off these and that of his friends, many of which are also manufactures. Dave still on occasion works on the layout and they sometimes set up a web cam for work sessions.
This layout is still for sale.http://www.ebay.com/itm/The-Pennsy-Middle-Division-Model-Railroad-Layout-in-HO-Scale-by-Dave-Frary-/201646161736?hash=item2ef30c3f48:g:sowAAOSwsTxXiR6p
Clickable:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/The-Pennsy-Middle-Division-Model-Railroad-Layout-in-HO-Scale-by-Dave-Frary-/201646161736?hash=item2ef30c3f48:g:sowAAOSwsTxXiR6p#viTabs_0
Cool, lost track of Jimmy after he sold his forum.
Seems mind boggling to buy it and move it
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
BigDaddySeems mind boggling to buy it and move it
Yeah, they might have more luck just salvaging the structures and selling those.
Steve S
from flipping thru the articles the origonal layout was designed to be taken apart. He has some interesting ideas where the joints are. However it would still be a large task to carefully pack up all the structures for moving.
Steve
While the price tag may seem high, but don't forget the many custom layout builders charge that kind of price, and they seem to stay in business. Moving the layout and re-assembling it would not be for the faint of heart! Keep in mind that Allen McCelland was unable to sell his home with the V&O and appartently no one offered to purchase and move it. I dare say there are few more famous model railroads.
Also the price is negotible and there are about $15,000.00 or more it FSM and other kits built by some of the best, seen some FSM built-ups go for close to $1000.00.
Ebay listing was ended early this morning because "item is no longer available". Has this great layout found a new home? If so I hope either buyer or seller will document the move and post it here.
Here is some information about restoration of the layout once Jimmy bought it: http://scottymason.com/pennsy/index.htm
Modeling the D&H in 1984: http://dandhcoloniemain.blogspot.com/
I haven't made it past the 4th paragraph but it looks like a good read:
Finished and it was a good read! Jimmy was in a devastating motorcycle accident and Scotty rebuilt the layout for him.
That was over 10 years and and doesn't tell the story of why the layout was recently sold. However none of us are getting younger, so it's not hard to imagine a reason.
He moved.