Terry Terrance’s M&K Junction Model
Railroad November 16, 2019
Terry Terrance participated in both clinics and layout open house at the
Joint Event with the James River Division. In the morning he provided an
in-depth clinic “Modeling the B&O West End” of the Baltimore and
Ohio Railroad relating the design and construction of his own layout. A
large attentive audience paid rapt attention since Terry’s layout is
scheduled for deconstruction and relocation in the near future. In the
afternoon folks headed out to Terry’s to see the layout. There was a
good healthy crowd in a basement full of a layout and running trains.
Terry’s M&K Junction Model Railroad (O Scale) is part of the “double
humped” B&O crossing of the Allegheny mountains. The grade on Briery
Mountain (Cranberry Grade), the crossing of the Cheat River at Rowlesburg,
WV and the grade up Laurel Mountain (Cheat River Grade), is depicted in
condensed form on this layout. Rowlesburg was a helper station as trains
needed to be pushed up the grades in both directions out of Rowlesburg.
The Morgantown and Kingwood Railroad (merged into the B&O after 1922)
interchanged with the B&O at Rowlesburg, the railroad's name for
Rowlesburg – M&K Junction. The time period is late 1949 through early
1952 – the period when diesels and steam co-existed at M&K. Seven,
four-unit F7 diesel sets arrived in 1949 and were so superior in heavy
mountain railroading that the subdivision was dieselized in 1952.
The track is designed to create the feel of the prototype with heavy
grades and very little tangent (straight) track and to be scenically
sincere, that is, trains pass through a scene only once. There are few
on-line industries on the prototype and few will be included on the model
railroad (some have been added for scenic/operational interest). A model
of the B&O's 4 stone-arch Tray Run Viaduct is planned. The model will
be 2/3 full scale size and over 6’ long. The B&O's crossing of Cheat
River is represented with a truncated single span bridge.
The basement is approximately 25 ½ x 36 feet. Minimum mainline radius is
60”, and that is only on the inner track on one curve. The minimum radius
elsewhere is 62” or larger. The layout is 2-rail, O scale. The layout runs
on a Digital Command Control (DCC) system using a combination of Lenz
power/command stations; Java Model Railroad Interface (JMRI) software and
computer control; JMRI WiFi throttles running on Android devices; and
locomotive and accessory decoders from many different manufacturers.
Terry had a descriptive handout which addressed The History of the
Baltimore & Ohio Railroad's “West End”, Scenic Features of the Layout,
The Track Plan, and Layout Operation.
View the handout Terry has a set of pictures
of the layout under construction that he has generously shared with us.
View the pictures Terry also maintains a blog
“2-Rail O Scale Railroading.”
Visit the blog
