On Sunday, September 28th, from 1 PM - 4 PM

 Double Header layout tour in the Poolesville, Maryland area.

Directions to the HO scale layouts will be provided through the division's email distribution system.

John King's B&O Shenandoah Subdivision

This layout represents the B&O branch from Harpers Ferry to Strasburg Junction, via Charlestown and Winchester, in the Fall of 1949. This layout has the track work complete between Harpers Ferry and Strasburg with hand laid track and turnouts. The trackage at all of the stations replicates the prototype although some of the sidings are not included and/or are shortened to fit into the space available. The power is all steam, mostly custom detailed brass to more closely represent locomotives that ran in the valley. The fleet car fleet is comprised of cars that would have been seen in 1949.  While you are there ask to see the Dispatchers Office with the 1942 Interlocking machine that once controlled the junction at JD Tower in Hyattsville, MD and the early 20th century dispatchers telephone system.

Brian Sheron's Long Island Railroad

This layout is represents the LIRR, circa 1954 or 1964, depending upon whether there are steam or diesel locomotives running on the layout. The original layout was started in 1988 and modeled the Port Jefferson Branch from Ease Northport to Jamaica Station in the Queens. It occupies a 13' x 19' room in his basement. Around 1995 he expanded the layout into another 12' x 12' room to model the LIRR's City terminal zone. This included modeling the third rail electric lines that carried commuters from Jamaica under the East River into Penn Station in Manhattan, the high rise buildings of New York City, an operating overhead El railroad, and Penn Station, including a cutaway of the underground shopping plaza and the LIRR platforms beneath Penn Station. In 2015, he expanded his layout once again to model the LIRR’s Atlantic Branch. This included modeling Holban Yard, Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn, and the LIRR car floats in Long Island City.

Brian has interior lights in many of his buildings, working streetlights, and over 40 Miller Engineering EL signs, all of which make for some impressive night scenes. To capture the urban atmosphere of Long Island and New York City, Brian’s layout has almost 800 vehicles and over 1700 figures on it. The layout is controlled by Digitrax DCC.  Brian’s layout was featured in the September, 1997 issue of Rail Model Journal and the August, 2024 issue of Model Railroader Magazine.

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  Thoughts on Open Houses by Nick Kalis         Hosting a Home Layout Tour by Bob Rosenberg

If you would like to have your layout included as part of a division layout tour please email the Layout Tour Coordinator  Click here to email the Layout Tour Coordinator.