Bob’s Nickel City Line is a freelanced railroad that runs through the
Allegheny
Mountains of Pennsylvania in the late 1990s. The railroad had the original
primary
purpose of hauling coal and ore from the owner’s mining interests. The
line was then
expanded to move goods and services. Bob’s model railroad empire
encompasses all of
the three business ventures and he has accomplished this feat
realistically, which
makes operating sessions genuinely realistic. This layout is focused on
operations and
Bob hosts six to nine sessions annually. NMRA members who operate on this
magnificent
layout can, over time, actually earn full credit toward achieving a Chief
Dispatcher
Merit award.
Bob started this modeling venture in a 12’ x 20’ area in his basement, and
through
negotiations with his spouse, was able to lease the entire area of their
basement.
Although the layout was “completed” in 1997, he has added the last
available basement
space of another 7’ X 24’ in 2019. This new addition includes a coal
washing plant,
relocation of staging yards, plus other additions to make an already
excellent
operations-based layout even more challenging. There are over 20 scale
miles of
trackage and his classification yard, turntable, and roundhouse facilities
are truly
exceptional.
Businesses for railroad revenue are vital to a prototype railroad and it
is a
realistic feature for an operations centered model railroad. Bob has done
a splendid
job featuring 106 industries serviced by his railroad, including coal, ore
mining, and
fabrication plants. Towns such as Canova and Chessie City add interest and
purpose and
Bob has carefully designed his layout to include eight stations and
passenger stops
along the line.
Bob has taken the operations environment to the extreme. He has designed
and installed
a lighting system that truly brings realism to operations. He can set the
system for
full daylight, late evening/early morning, and night operations. With the
aid of his
excellent fast clock system, he can incorporate various lighting schemes
to challenge
operators to the maximum. A major feature of the Nickel City Line’s
operations
capability is a spectacular Chief Dispatchers office. The electronic panel
shows
virtually all of the train movements occurring on the layout at any given
time
allowing the Chief Dispatcher to make real time decision with maximum
safety in the
forefront. There are seven PABX phone stations which include Dispatcher,
Yardmaster,
Hostler, Laurel Valley, Nickel City East, Dubois, and the Dispatcher–Track
Authority
Desk.
This write up only touches the surface of features on this fantastic
layout. You need
to see it to believe it! This is a layout all model railroaders MUST put
on their
“bucket list”. If you get the opportunity to see, or operate, on Bob’s
Nickel City
Line DO IT!!
Bob’s web site is outstanding and I encourage all who read this layout
tour summary to
look it up:
http://nclrr.potomac-nmra.org/index.htm 
by John Paganoni, MMR