Largest home layout in world is...ugggh, Penn Central!

[KemacPrr]

I've had two of my three open house this past week and had over 125 people on a wednesday night and over 200 just last friday night. What was interesting was the comments and stories I got from ex PRR/PC employees about their PC experience. It wasn't all bad most related how they kept the rr running with chewing gum, baling wire , duct tape etc. Stories about motive power were hilarious. The rr worked very well with signals in service on the northern section of the Buffalo line. Some commented that the model worked too well compared to the real life rr. ----------Ken McCorry

[Anonymous]

Ken,

Your layout rocks - that about sums it up. Regardless of what might be painted on the sides of the engines. PC, UP, PRR, C&O, B&O, ATSF whatever its a very well planned out layout, beautifully executed, and - the only thing that really matters - keeps its owner big time happy. While I would have preferred PRR, LV and CNJ running in NJ I can still say "GREAT JOB!"

[PennsyHoosier]

[#ditto]

It really is an amazing layout. And the sooner you regress to PRR, the better. [:-,]

[Anonymous]

PennsyHoosier,

Wouldn't it be way cool to see some double headed PRR 2-10-0's on that layout?

[Paul3]

dkelly wrote:

QUOTE: Modeling failure? How about modeling an effort to avoid failure. Too bad they didn't make it. Perhaps it took the failure of PC to get the government more involved with the loans and Stagger's act. How many railroads were saved because PC's failure woke everyone? Would that be a failure then?

PC, or rather, PRR and NYC (not to mention the NH) could have gotten the government's attention in the 1960's if they threatened to shut down the entire RR. It's been working for Amtrak lately, and it would have worked in the 1960's. I give no credit to PC for bringing about Stagger's because they could have done it a decade before and saved a lot more...

QUOTE: what about the railroads that were willing participants with racism? That's ok if they were financial successes? The Norfolk Western was a powerhouse during the time they took advantage of cheap black labor and prison folks to build tunnels. Somehow that to me is worse than throwing away a bunch of papers in a station basement or selling a diesel before some guy to purchase it. But because they had economic good years that's an ok line to model?

I would not want to model "Jim Crow" cars, or anything of the sort. I don't want to model the pre-civil war era, nor would I want to model more modern "racist" policies. Let me make that perfectly clear, ok? But after that era ended...why not model those roads?

Note that there are two points of interest here: railroad and era. I really like the New Haven, but no way do I want to model the late 1960's NH because it would be too depressing. In this same way, I might model the N&W, but no way would I model the "Jim Crow" era. See?

The problem with PC is that it had no "good" era. It was all bad. The railroad only lasted a few years, and it had no chance to become a successful railroad. If it had, as I said before, no one would question why anyone would model the PC. But the facts are that the PC never was a success. Black engines with "mating worms" is a symbol of failure, the largest American business failure in history (until recent times).

Even the NYO&W had good years, and they were the first Class I to completely go out of business in the mid-1950's. Sure, they were "Old & Weary", but they had the good years that PC never had.

QUOTE: Yes, every railroad had its ugly side. Be it economic, management, social whatever. What does make modeling a railroad fun is the memories that it invokes in its owner.

But why would anyone want to model this "ugly side"? Penn Central was all "ugly", all the time.

KemacPrr wrote:

QUOTE: What was interesting was the comments and stories I got from ex PRR/PC employees about their PC experience. It wasn't all bad most related how they kept the rr running with chewing gum, baling wire , duct tape etc.

Great layout! But, IMHO, wrong RR. [:D] BTW, how many ex-NH employees do you get during your Open Houses? [;)]

Paul A. Cutler III
*****************
Weather Or No Go New Haven
*****************

[AntonioFP45]

QUOTE: by Paul 3

By why would anyone want to model this "ugly side"? Penn Central was all "ugly", all the time

Goodness Paul!, I honestly feel that a number of us, including me, clearly communicated the reasons!

Not disrespecting you, but while you're very knowledgable[;)], you also seem to be a little on the "extremist side"[:0], especially considering that you weren't there as things were unfolding in the late 60s and early 70s! America in general, had a completely different mentality and PC was one of many companies doomed to fail! There was even corruption in WASHINGTON! (anyone here besides me remember Watergate?) [;)]

It seems that your style is to model a railroad era where things were "going well". That's fine, but from what you've stated, according to your modeling "guidelines" any railroad or time period where things were not "rosy" is depressing and is a waste of time doing so! [V] My goodness, I'm so glad that at 41 I don't think this way! [:p][:D][8D] I'd really be feeling bad that I was around during that time instead of feeling greatful! [^]

If that's the case, no one should model ANYTHING!
Automobiles, up until the late 80s were unsafe in collisions
Many buildings up until the 1980s contained asbestos
Rape and Wife Battering up until the early 90s was often not taken seriously by the police
Polio devasted millions until Doctor Salk came along
Today we worry about wack-job terrorists........now that's depressing!

Why model any time period? IT's ALL FULL OF DEPRESSING MOMENTS! [V][|)]

Penn Central, while "ugly", as you say was not ALL UGLY. With all due respect, you weren't there!!! I was and so were some of the guys on here. Again, many of us model what we saw and experienced. For some of us, the memories are VERY PLEASANT! Why can't this be understood?? It's simple for me. The Penn Central gave a happy, but shy boy who looked out a New York apartment window everday a lot to sigh and smile about as he waited for his dad to come home from work! [:)][:D][:p][;)][8)]

O.K, now for the "so called" ugly let's see the following:
(A) The E33s, which remained in NH colors for a while were beautiful looking machines hauling lonnnnnnnng freight trains.
{B) The Metroliners, were touted as the Fastest, sharpest looking passenger trains in America. Most of the travelers on these trains wore business attire!
(C) The GG1s were still "flexing their big biceps" [4:-)][tup] as they hauled freight & passenger trains on the Northeast Corridor at 70+ mph.
(D) Long distance passenger trains from SCL and Southern were hauled by the PC on the corridor. Penn Central was able to maintain the schedules the majority of the time. Speeds on some segments were still 90mph.

So "beauty" and "ugly" is in the beholder's mind. "Depressing and Model Railroading" just don't go together!

Again, In modeling the PC a knowledgeable modeler can acknowledge but not have to "worry or care" about the bankruptcy, corruption and everything negative. Come on! Nobody is holding a 50,000 Volt Police Taser on a modelers head yelling "Look you punk! Make sure you model the guys destroying property or stealing, or setting the Maybrook Bridge on fire! You got that?!"

Paul, modelers WANT TO RELAX AND HAVE FUN.[8D][:D]The sad info can stay in the history books!

Take Care! [:)][:D][8D][;)][8)][4:-)][tup][swg]

[Anonymous]

Paul,

I'm sorry you take such an affront to what I posted earlier. No railroad has a "clean" period. Often times present "clean" periods are a direct result of some "ugly" action decades past. You wouldn't model NW prior to the mid 60's? Well, NS is still using the tunnels and fills made by racist policies. Not having as much debt in building them can be partially responsible for today's bottom line. I'm sure if you would tell us what railroad and era you model, there are folks here that will find reasons you shouldn't be modeling it just as you found against PC. It's just the way things go.

[Anonymous]

By extension. Dont model the LV, CNJ, RDG, Erie, Lacawana, C&S, or even the NYO&W. They all should have threatened to shut down and could have made the Stagger's Act happen earlier than it did.

[Paul3]

AntonioFP45 wrote:

QUOTE: Goodness Paul!, I honestly feel that a number of us, including me, clearly communicated the reasons!

You have stated your reasons, and they mostly deal with what you first saw as a railfan. Ok, that's fine. I'm glad I don't, because nothing but Amtrak and MBTA F40's and CR B23-7's get awful boring. [;)] I guess my point is one has all of RR history to choose from, and you and the others are making a decision to model a road that I would never choose. We'll just agree to disagree.

QUOTE: Not disrespecting you, but while you're very knowledgable, you also seem to be a little on the "extremist side",...

I've never denied that. It's gotten to the point where my friends have been known to buy me PC models as a "joke" present. [xx(][:)]

QUOTE: ...especially considering that you weren't there as things were unfolding in the late 60s and early 70s! America in general, had a completely different mentality and PC was one of many companies doomed to fail! There was even corruption in WASHINGTON! (anyone here besides me remember Watergate?)

Since when does my age matter? Am I not allowed to form an opinion on something that happened before I was born? Many times, people who lived through historical events don't know what is actually going on behind the scenes. They know what they were doing, and how they felt, but it's hard to get an accurate overall view when one is slogging through the trenches of everyday life. I'm not saying you don't know what was happening, but don't assume that just because I wasn't there, that I don't know.

QUOTE: It seems that your style is to model a railroad era where things were "going well". That's fine, but from what you've stated, according to your modeling "guidelines" any railroad or time period where things were not "rosy" is depressing and is a waste of time doing so!

I never said "waste of time". It can be a very valuable learning and/or teaching experience. But what gets me is those that want to ignore history entirely, totally missing the learning or the teaching, and that's too bad. Why does model railroading only have to be about models? Why can't you also get into the whys and wherefores of RR history?

BTW, I never said "guidelines", either. I have asked "Why?" As in, why do people model certain roads in certain eras. Not once have I told anyone what to model, so how can I have issued "guidelines"?

QUOTE: My goodness, I'm so glad that at 41 I don't think this way! I'd really be feeling bad that I was around during that time instead of feeling greatful!

Hey, if I grew up in the early 1970's, I'd be depressed... Disco? Bell bottoms? (shudder) [:D]

QUOTE: If that's the case, no one should model ANYTHING!
Automobiles, up until the late 80s were unsafe in collisions
Many buildings up until the 1980s contained asbestos
Rape and Wife Battering up until the early 90s was often not taken seriously by the police
Polio devasted millions until Doctor Salk came along
Today we worry about wack-job terrorists........now that's depressing!

Why model any time period? IT's ALL FULL OF DEPRESSING MOMENTS!

Sigh. Again, you miss the point. Do you model car crashes? Do you model cancer cells? Do you model domestic abuse? Do you model polio victims? Do you model terrorist events? I sure hope not. These events have very little to do with what we are actually trying to model.

There are two factors at work, and I will explain it again. Era of the railroad and railroad itself. It's not just one or the other, I consider both together. The NH in the late 1800's and early 1900's was a terrible RR, with many deaths on it's head due to resistance to institute safety upgrades. But in the 1920's, 1940's and 1950's, the NH was at the top of it's game.

See the differance? We aren't modeling the whole world, we are modeling a specific transportation mode at a point (or even several points) in history. I would not want to model a specific railroad during a specific depressing era with regards to that specific RR.

QUOTE: Penn Central, while "ugly", as you say was not ALL UGLY. With all due respect, you weren't there!!! I was and so were some of the guys on here. Again, many of us model what we saw and experienced. For some of us, the memories are VERY PLEASANT! Why can't this be understood?? It's simple for me. The Penn Central gave a happy, but shy boy who looked out a New York apartment window everday a lot to sigh and smile about as he waited for his dad to come home from work!

Did you know what was really going on as a 5-13 year-old kid? I know I didn't when I was that age from '80 to '88. I was shocked when I saw MBTA FP10's in the late 1980's on an old video tape years after it was shot. I had no recollection of them at all, and I lived right next to the tracks.

QUOTE: O.K, now for the "so called" ugly let's see the following:
(A) The E33s, which remained in NH colors for a while were beautiful looking machines hauling lonnnnnnnng freight trains.

"Beautiful"? EF-4's have been called many things (mis-shaped bricks is one of my favs), but beautiful hasn't been one of them before... [:)]

QUOTE: {B) The Metroliners, were touted as the Fastest, sharpest looking passenger trains in America. Most of the travelers on these trains wore business attire!

Didn't those Metroliners get started by PRR? Didn't those Metroliners turn into trailers pretty quickly? Didn't most travelers between NY and DC wear business attire? I know they do now, as my last two trips on the Acela Express showed me...

QUOTE: (C) The GG1s were still "flexing their big biceps" as they hauled freight & passenger trains on the Northeast Corridor at 70+ mph.

Sure, but where were the EP-5's? Looking like lepers, unfortunately...

QUOTE: (D) Long distance passenger trains from SCL and Southern were hauled by the PC on the corridor. Penn Central was able to maintain the schedules the majority of the time.

Still a far cry from only a few years before.

QUOTE: So "beauty" and "ugly" is in the beholder's mind. "Depressing and Model Railroading" just don't go together!

I agree. And obviously, what you consider depressing is far different than what I consider depressing.

QUOTE: Again, In modeling the PC a knowledgeable modeler can acknowledge but not have to "worry or care" about the bankruptcy, corruption and everything negative. Come on! Nobody is holding a 50,000 Volt Police Taser on a modelers head yelling "Look you punk! Make sure you model the guys destroying property or stealing, or setting the Maybrook Bridge on fire! You got that?!"

As long as they know that. [:D] Many (not all) PC modelers that I have met both online and in person don't know and don't care what the PC actually did. They just see the big diesel roster, and their eyes get wide, the heart rate goes up, and they just dream of all the engines they can buy if they only model the PC ("...and the paint scheme is so easy!"). But the PC has a lot of negative baggage, you have to admit.

QUOTE: Paul, modelers WANT TO RELAX AND HAVE FUN.The sad info can stay in the history books!

You know what they say about those that forget history... I wonder what they say to those that go out of their way to totally ignore history? [;)]

dkelly wrote:

QUOTE: I'm sorry you take such an affront to what I posted earlier. No railroad has a "clean" period. Often times present "clean" periods are a direct result of some "ugly" action decades past. You wouldn't model NW prior to the mid 60's? Well, NS is still using the tunnels and fills made by racist policies. Not having as much debt in building them can be partially responsible for today's bottom line.

How about this? I don't model the N&W at all, and have zero interest in doing so. I also have zero interest in model NS, CSX, or any modern railroad.

No railroad had a "clean" period? Ever? What do you consider clean? To me, this whole discussion was centered around PC and it's depressing history, and you have turned it into a ethics probe of all railroads, past and present.

QUOTE: I'm sure if you would tell us what railroad and era you model, there are folks here that will find reasons you shouldn't be modeling it just as you found against PC. It's just the way things go.

You're kidding, right? Now I know you aren't really reading my posts. Quick, look under my signature line in every one of my posts... It has something to do about the weather... My era? From around 1941 to 1964, more or less.

Paul A. Cutler III
*****************
Weather Or No Go New Haven
*****************

[Anonymous]

The New Haven declared bankruptcy in 1961 merged with PC in 1969 while still in bankruptcy. lol.

[AntonioFP45]

O.K Paul3

I believe I understand you now. We can still agree to disagree.[;)]

BTW: regarding your comment on "Disco"???? [8)]

Hmmmmm.............might seem funny to you, but I find today's gothic, dark rock far more depressing than disco.[V] A lot of the emphasis seems to be on death, darkness, emptiness, and in some cases suicide. (Big advantage of being a high school tech-teacher with a wacky sense of humor is that kids always open up to you!)

Disco didn't emphasize death and darkness so much as the emphasis was on Latin style dancing to a mixture of Soul, and Latino rythyms.

But of course, to each his own.

Peace![:D]

[Anonymous]

Disco? Man, at the time everyone hated it (remember the "Death before Disco" buttons?). But if you notice "YMCA" is played at nearly every sporting event and wedding. And KC and the Sunshine Band? Those guys were great and last time I saw KC he's still dancin (although not as well as he used to!). And come on - we all know the words to "Stayin' Alive"! lol Now leisure suits, that certainly was and is depressing!!

[ericboone]

According to the article starting on page 35 of Model Railroad Planning 2004, a 2900 square foot Southern Ry. is being built by J.D. Smith and John Breau is working on a 2800 square foot layout which already has a completed mainline. That beats the 2448 square feet of the PC layout. Now the PC layout is double decked and has 950 feet of mainline while Mr. Breau's layout has a 500 foot mainline. No mainline lenght is listed for Mr. Smith's layout. I guess it depends upon how you define "largest".

[rtstasiak]

Ome of the good things about Penn Central (unless you worked in their shops!) was the wide variety of equipment and yes, color schemes. My personal favorites were RSD-5 + GP-9B hump sets in Buffalo as well as New Haven diesels rolling through on freights. It could have been worse!

Rich

[cmrproducts]

My small layout doing the Conrail lowgrade (Dubois to Driftwood, PA) is in a 2200sq ft basement.

I have about 1000ft of main line and about 2600ft total track.

The layout has multiple levels

BOB H Clarion, PA

[AntonioFP45]

Paul3,

Forgot to mention.

RE: Metroliners. If I'm not mistaken, some of the Metroliners were delivered new just after Penn Central was born, so some of them were "original" Penn Central" cars.

No, they did not get turned into trailers "pretty quick". They continued to run well into the Amtrak era. On www.railpictures.net there's plenty of pictures of the "Metros" in Red, White, and Blue. They did have a few problems.

From what I read from a knowledgeable poster:

[1] The cooling grids would get clogged with snow, so a number of them had them relocated to the roof.

[2] At very high speed, the pantographs from the 3rd car and back would bounce on and off the wire due to the slip-stream turbulence, so in the 1980s (long after PC dissappeared) the "Metros" were transferred to the Philly-Harrisburg line service where speeds didn't exceed 80 mph.

Amtrak started using the "Toasters" (AEM-7) with Amfleet cars which proved to be very successful. Amfleet cars, which are Metroliner shells, were introduced in 1974. Very smart move by Budd as Amtrak was desperate for new cars.

The metros that are left have been converted into other uses. Last year one of them came to Florida. The markings on it were Federal Dept. of Transportation. A few years ago I read a report from the National Railway Historical Society that there was one original Penn Central Metroliner left with equipment intact. A group was working to get it preserved. I really do hope that they succeeded!

[Anonymous]

I think it is an awesome layout, and even better that he models that era. You know the PC was going, with old and tired equipment, much like the rest of the nations railroads. The PC was big and had big problems, look at the Milwaukee Road, CNW, Rock Island and other roads of that time frame, they were all tired and in need of much help. I love that era! As far as the layout itself, it is wonderful. Now for all of you who are complaining about him modeling the Penn Central, well go build your layout with YOUR favorite railroad. And you know what, I bet that people would be wondering why you picked whatever railroad. The joy of the hobby, we model what we want to, you don't have to like it, but you can take ideas from it and incorporate it onto your railroad.

[Anonymous]

i saw the layout in the MR issue. i liked it a lot. i model bnsf. does anybody know some bn, sf, or bnsf orientated layout? i saw the sf layout in the MR issue. thanks

bnsf6733

[Anonymous]

I had the opportunity to visit Ken's layout during one of his open houses, and in a word, it's AWESOME!

Of course the size is impressive, but it's the little things that I really enjoyed looking at. The pictures in Model Railroader really don't do the layout justice. Almost all the equipment is weathered, and while not all of it reflects the 'Penn Central grunge,' the overall effect is a lot more convincing in person than from the photos in MR. There was quite a bit of Conrail motive power on the layout as well, which you didn't see in the pictures - having grown up near Penn Central and then Conrail tracks, I have a special place in my heart for that time frame. My first (and to date, only!) cab ride was on a GP series locomotive run by Conrail before NJ Transit took over from Green Brook, NJ, to Somerville NJ on the Raritan Valley line when I was quite young - but I digress.

Due to marriage, the military, having a kid, and moving, I have been out of the hobby for quite a while. Seeing Ken's layout in person really sparked my interest again. What I missed most was the interaction with other people who have a common interest in the hobby - some of the most friendly and outgoing people I've met have been railfans and model railroaders, and Ken's operator group fits that description well. One gentleman let me run a train around the mainline twice (it takes a little while to make it all the way around!), and if seeing the layout in person didn't reinvigorate me, running a long train through realistic scenery sure did the trick. I also enjoyed the conversation with several other guys in his operator group, and their interests varied from short line narrow gauge through modern motive power on Class 1 railroads. To those that would say 'wasting' this much effort on a Penn Central layout is akin to some type of model railroading sin, I would say you're missing the point entirely. It matters less exactly WHAT railroad, period, or type of operation you model, but that you have fun and share it with others. I think Ken has succeeded on both counts!

The MR article makes mention of the signals that Ken is installing, and I haven't seen a layout with operating signals, so I was quite impressed with that. The CTC board is another thing I haven't seen before, and it was neat to see how the interlockings worked. I'm definately going to install signals on my future layout - now, if I could only decide between HO and N!

In any event, I would encourage everyone to follow Ken's lead and share the hobby with as many people as they can. Model Railroading is fun, and we shouldn't forget that!

[rtstasiak]

From my previous post, this a great model railroad and the PC is a spectacular prototype for diesel and electric fans. I hope that Ken runs everything from PRR steam to CSX and NS because it all looks good on the Buffalo-Harrisburg line.

BTW, my first time in the cab of an F-unit was in a PC black-dip unit on the north end of the real Buffalo line, through Mineral Springs and DM interlocking. The first locomotives that my father and I painted were for the PC, with the LV and others to follow. PC stinks in some ways, but rocks in others, just like most things in life.

Rich

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by dano99a

QUOTE: Originally posted by csxmu

QUOTE: At least he didn't waste the space on another UP layout.

My thoughts exactly!![#ditto]

HAHAHAHHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHA, sorry I thought that was pretty funny.

It is in fact a nice layout, I could really care less if it was PC or UP or PRR or C&O or B&O or ATSF or SF or Espee or BNSF or, or, or NNGDVCHBSLKVNFVJHBFV......
[:)]


it is a really nice layout that I can only dream of owning something like it someday or even better own the house that it lives in.... [:)]

whats the big deal it looks great up layouts are so been done and run into the ground.if they like what they did then so be it

[KemacPrr]

Hey Warthogdrvr thanks for the kind words regarding your open house visit. We had about 750 people total at 3 open house events. The rr and my grass survived intact. Glad you got to take the throttle for a run over the Buffalo line. I decided to let the crews do that as long as they kept an eye on the visitor and the signals. The main reason I do this every year is my attempt to help the hobby. It's fun to watch little kids walk around with the mini step stools I provide to get a better view of the rr and the parents backs appreciate even more. Kids are still fascinated by trains , sound equipted ones even more so. Hopefully I planted a small seed in one of the visitors that will take root later on to become a future model railroaders. By the way you PC haters the rr is now in the early Conrail era 1977-1982 now so only some PC is around but still enough to ruffle some feathers I hope. -----Ken McCorry

[AntonioFP45]

QUOTE: By KenmacPrr:
By the way you PC haters the rr is now in the early Conrail era 1977-1982....

Ken,

Don't worry. There's only a few "PC" bashers here. you guys have done a great job presenting history on a model railroad.

As I stated before, when Conrail came on to the scene (I was a teen by then) I remember fully well that up until about 1981people in the public, as well as some modelers/railfans looked as it as a "joke". Any of you all over 35 remember "THE BIG CON", as in "government con-game? "Conrail Bashing" was the norm at the local hobby shops, and yes Paul3, I was more than old enough to remember.

If you walked into the hobby shops here in the Florida west coast and inquired about models in the Conrail scheme, you likely would have heard a few chuckles or snickering. If you asked about PC models, no big deal.

Of course, a few years later Conrail continued to improve and became a respected transportation company and it "grew" on me. I was sad in seeing it dissappear into history, just like the PC.

[Anonymous]

Ken,

Could you perhaps borrow a couple of K4's or M1's and do up a photo shoot for Trackside Photos? Would love to see Pennsy steam going through your layout. That would be way cool!

Dave

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by KemacPrr

Hey Warthogdrvr thanks for the kind words regarding your open house visit.

Thanks again for opening it up to the public. Unfortunately my 3 yr old son couldn't attend with me, he and my wife were in State College, PA, visiting my in-laws and it was the last open house you were having. I hope to bring him next year, if you'll be doing something along the same lines. If you want to see a kids' eyes get as big as saucers and a smile that won't quit, watch when he comes up the stairs and is surrounded by trains!

QUOTE: We had about 750 people total at 3 open house events. The rr and my grass survived intact.

That's a good thing; I'm sure it's no fun doing massive repairs on either!

QUOTE: Glad you got to take the throttle for a run over the Buffalo line. I decided to let the crews do that as long as they kept an eye on the visitor and the signals.

It was a hoot! First time I have run a train via wireless DCC, and I'm hooked. The gentleman who let me run (I believe his last name was Tyler, but I could be wrong) gave me good instructions on what to look out for with the signals, suggested throttle settings, and how to avoid derailing a string of cars over Keating Summit.

QUOTE: The main reason I do this every year is my attempt to help the hobby.

Judging by the people and kids I saw at your open house, I'd say you're helping quite a bit. The look on the kids' faces made me wish I could have brought my son - seeing how much they were enjoying themselves put a smile on my face, too!

QUOTE: It's fun to watch little kids walk around with the mini step stools I provide to get a better view of the rr and the parents backs appreciate even more. Kids are still fascinated by trains , sound equipted ones even more so. Hopefully I planted a small seed in one of the visitors that will take root later on to become a future model railroaders.

I'm sure you have. I remember the different layouts my grandfather and father brought me to see when I was quite young, and I still have some very vivid memories from those visits. I went to an open house at The Model Railroad Club, Inc., in Union, NJ, when I was about 5 years old - and I don't remember much else from when I was that old!

Ken, keep up the good work as an ambassador to the hobby. You've helped bring me back into the fold, and I'm sure you've done the same for a lot of your visitors - young and old. In a few years when my layout comes to fruition I will remember to open it up and help spread the hobby to current and future generations!

If you are ever in need of operators or volunteers to help in the future, please keep me in mind. I would enjoy having a cup of coffee and talking with you and your other operators about trains!

For the gentleman who suggested Ken send in some Pennsy steam power pictures for trackside photos, you might be in luck. Hopefully I'm not letting the cat out of the bag, but I think I saw one of Broadway Limited's Pennsy J-1s idling in a locomotive servicing area...