Most model railroads we get to visit on our Potomac Division Saturday
tours have some relationship with a specific prototype or to an
overriding theme; Chris Smith’s N&W O scale line or Bill Lyder’s
combination of several 1950’s Appalachian coal haulers in south western
Virginia serve as examples of this concept. Not so with the Abram’s
Railroad Empire. Marshall likes to describe his layout as “urban
anachronistic.” I would readily concur with that assessment and might
be inclined to add “eclectic” as well. It’s designed for operation
using Digitrax DCC, with both their plug-in’s and radio controlled
throttles. With an abundance of industries, towns, yards, and
interchange tracks, the 20’ by 22’ walk-around has adequate activities
and aisle space to keep as many as 8 operators busy during a session
although only two were helping him for this tour. Motive power running
that day included a SW1500 switcher, a road switcher (probably a GP-7)
in C of G paint pulling a freight train, an older GG1 made by IHC and
decorated for the Abrams Railroad Empire hauling three heavyweight
passenger cars because the newer MTH version was having problems, and a
more recent (1970’s?) Amtrack electric with some Amtrack cars in tow.
All of them were running quite well and many of them have sound. Among
those available but not running were a BL-2, a NYC F-a unit, a two car
self-propelled train of European ancestry, and two gas electrics
– one a Bachman – the other a scratch built model over an Atlas frame
that looked like it began its life as a LaBelle kit. There was even a
freight car fleet painted and lettered for the 13 original colonies,
something you seldom see at all much less running in revenue service.
The scenery and track ballasting were about 70% complete. There were
operating dwarf signals to indicate the throw direction of the
turnouts, operating block signals, and additional repeater signals
above the back drop to indicate the traffic situation with some of the
less visible track for the convenience of the operators. In the past
Marshall has presented clinics on those aforementioned dwarf signals as
well as on freight car forwarding procedures for use in operating
sessions and creating backdrops from scenes available on the internet.
A new waterfall was flowing down from the rock faces bordering the
double track along the rear wall of the layout. There were also a pair
of crossing gate/flashers that were triggered by approaching trains and
some lighted animated signs representing various past and present
corporations - Esso, GE, “Ready Kilowatt” (remember him?), and a couple
of those three ring Ballantine Beer signs in two different restaurant
like establishments. Marshall gives much of the credit for the
gates and signs to Bill Day, whose advocacy of animation inspired him
to add them to his layout, and I don’t know why we don’t see more of
that sort of thing on other layouts. They’re not that expensive or that
hard to install, and they really make a dramatic contribution to the
overall appearance of a scene.
“Urban Anachronism” is probably not how most of us would think to
described our layouts, but it does give you the freedom to run anything
you want to run anytime you want to run it rather than locking you
into, say, trying to replicate the New Haven and the B&M in a
1950’s rendition of rural New England. Such a concept may not be for
everyone but it works well for Marshall, and it makes for an enjoyable
afternoon whether you’re operating it, taking notes on it, or just
enjoying watching it run,
Bob Rosenberg