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Blue Ridge Rails Layout Tour Descriptions
- Apple Valley Model Railroad Club - Saturday, 10 am to 2 pm.
This 22 x 100 foot HO scale railroad is located inside the historic Hendersonville, NC Railroad Depot and has a Western North Carolina setting. The main yard is Asheville, NC where mainline trains run south to Spartanburg, SC and east to Spencer, NC. The Carolina and Northwestern railroad departs to the upper level at Hickory, NC going through Lenoir and Mortimer and joining with the W.M. Ritter logging railroad at Edgemont. The scenery is basically complete but it is constantly being updated to enhance the overall effect. Digitrax DCC (simplex and duplex) is used to control the trains. The layout was featured in the March 2015 issue of Model Railroader. There is also a Garden Scale layout outside by track side. Visit their website at www.avmrc.com for more information and photos. This layout is handicap accessible.
- Joe Dunn’s Rathole Division of the Norfolk Southern Railroad – Saturday 10 am to 2 pm and Sunday 10 am to 2 pm.
This large N scale layout represents the Norfolk Southern from Chattanooga, TN to St. Louis, MO. with a mainline length of approximately 6.5 scale miles. The layout is fully sceniced with the scenery being over 7 feet tall in some areas. You will see long trains being pulled by a mix of Southern, CSX, Conrail and Norfolk Southern motive power. Digitrax DCC (simplex and duplex) is used to control the trains. The layout was featured in the Nov/Dec 2016 issue of N Scale Magazine. This layout is handicap accessible.
- Bill Dye’s Pittsburgh, Cleveland and Monongahela RR – Thursday 1 to 5 pm and Saturday 10 am to 2 pm.
This is a 30 x 18 foot double deck N scale layout currently in the construction phase. The lower level depicts the Pittsburgh area including Glenwood yard, the P&LE Station and many Pittsburgh area industries. The upper level is the B&O route from Pittsburgh to Youngstown, OH and then on to Chicago and Cleveland represented by staging yards. Also modeled is a branch line from Harmony to Punxsutawney, PA and then to Buffalo, NY. Bench work and the mainline track and yards are complete but most industry tracks are still in work. Track is Atlas code 55 with all turnouts scratch built using the Fast Tracks templates. While little scenery has been completed to date, many structures are in place to help bring the railroad past the “plywood plains” state. NCE DCC is used to control the trains. This layout is not handicap accessible.
- French Broad e’N’pire NTRAK Club – Saturday 10 am to 2 pm and Sunday 10 am to 2 pm.
The FBE is a 25 x 32 foot N scale NTRAK modular layout. NTRAK is an international standard for a system of individual modules that when joined together allow for layouts larger than most people have room for. The club gets its name from the Greenville and French Broad River Railroad which was chartered in 1855 and operated between Greenville, SC and Asheville, NC. Track is 99% complete and scenery is about 80% complete. Digitrax DCC and WiFi are used to control the trains. This layout is handicap accessible.
- Ron Hale’s Blue Ridge and Allegany Railway – Thursday 1 to 5 pm and Sunday 10 am to 2 pm.
This 42 x 24 foot freelanced HO scale layout is set in the Spring of 1952. The Southern Railway operates the line from Blue Ridge, NC to the large steam and diesel engine facilities at Mosby, VA. The Western Maryland RR operates the line from Mosby north to Allegany MD. The double tracked mainline is approximately 200 feet long. The layout is fully sceniced with a large city scene and numerous craftsman kit structures throughout the layout. Digitrax DCC (simplex and duplex) is used to control the trains. The layout was featured in the November 2016 issue of Model Railroader. This layout is handicap accessible.
- Skip Grasser’s Milwaukee Road and Green Bay & Western – Thursday 1 to 5 pm and Saturday 10 am to 2 pm.
This freelanced 14 x 24 foot HO scale layout is set in the mid 80’s but occasionally newer equipment will be seen. All the towns on the layout were actually served by one or the other railroad. Bench work and track are essentially complete but scenery is only around 50% complete. Digitrax DCC is used to control the trains. This layout is not handicap accessible.
- Dan Lang’s Boston & Maine Railroad – Thursday 1 to 5 pm and Sunday 10 am to 2 pm.
This 20 x 38 foot HO layout is inspired by the west end of the Boston & Maine Railroad which ran from East Deerfield, MA to Rotterdam, NY where it connected to the New York Central Railroad. The period and equipment can vary from the 1940’s through 1980. While the layout is considered 100% complete, there are always changes and updates being made to enhance the railroad. The layout was featured in the August 2017 Newsletter of the Amherst Railway Society (www.amherstrail.org/ARS/newsletter-archive). This layout is handicap accessible.
