Glenn
Paulson's Conrail Allegheny Division, Waldorf MD
by
Ed Rosado
Potomac
Division members were treated to a new year's layout to visit in
January 2018. On a sunny very cold Saturday two of our
members opened up their layouts in Waldorf, MD. The Piedmont Southern
by Dale Latham and Glenn Paulson's Conrail Allegheny Division. This is
our second visit to Glenn's layout which is about 40% complete in a
huge space with around fifteen modelers visiting and admiring his
creation.
Glenn's
layout is part of the Chesapeake TrainMasters operating
group. He has dedicated his entire 1500 sq ft basement to the
layout with lots of room to maneuver, creating a double deck HO scale
point to point layout with double mainline. Trains run East to West and
back with East bound trains departing the Conway yard and the Pitcairn
intermodal facility and West bound trains departing the Enola Yard or
from the Harris Yard. Operating the railroad requires
coordination to negotiate the wall running through the middle of the
room with trains passing through tunnels, therefore losing sight from
the dispatchers office. Helpers are utilized to enable trains
to negotiate the height elevations scenicked with mountain
views. Decks are 18" apart.
Although
scenicking is only about less than half done, the layout looks ready to
go with work ready to be done and is just fine for operators. It just
proves that a layout doesn't need to be fully scenicked and "done" to
be operational or for many to simply enjoy the views and future
plans.
The
layout must be fun to operate with almost fifty industries serviced by
Conrail. An important operational aspect is the run to the
Karra Steel branch line which in turn services various steel mill
related industries plus rolling mills and related businesses.
Many industrial buildings are complete and open for business!
Trains meander through tunnels, over river beds with impressive
bridges, local countryside scenes and mountain views. Some
finished, others still under construction.
The
visit to Glen's Conrail Allegheny Division RR was an experience we wish
to repeat and view its progress in the future.
