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Jan 21, 2004
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Pete's layout has been featured in OSN 48/ft Magazine, and he's graciously allowed me to feature the layout here at the CRCyc. Hop on board for a trip through some gritty O scale modeling during the early years of Conrail. Photos by Pete Trunk and Friends.
When we think of modeling, especially Conrail, we usually think of HO scale and maybe N scale since these are the most popular modeling scales today. Nearly all the modeling tips and articles here at the Conrail Cyclopedia feature those two scales. Well sit back and take a look at Conrail modeling on a larger scale on Pete Trunk's two-rail O scale layout called The Philadelphia & Erie.
Like most people, Pete began his O modeling with classic Lionel three-rail O 'gauge,' the type of trains most people associate with Christmas tree layouts and childhood. However, Pete didn't just run his shiny O gauge trains around a big loop like most of us smaller scaler modelers do with our Lionel sets. No sir! Pete decided early on that he was going to actually model using three-rail trains. He added extra details onto his equipment and gave everything a shot of weathering, much to the chagrin of his friends, who thought that he was just a bit nuts for 'ruining' his potential collector pieces.
Pete kept this up for nearly 20 years until he stumbled on (or, as he says, had a revelation about) two-rail O scale railroading. Here was a scale where he could actually add all those details and weathering jobs without fear because two-rail models are to scale, unlike three-rail models, which are selectively compressed. So Pete quickly sold off what he could of his three-rail collection and converted the rest over to his new scale.
Not long after, Pete sent a letter off to OSN 48/ft Magazine singing of his new two-rail revelation. That's when the Central Jersey O Scalers entered the scene, asking Pete to join their efforts, which he gladly did. However, like many modelers, Pete wanted to model it all. He soon learned that in order to 'model it all' he would need a to build a basement the size of Montana and win the Lotto a few times. Instead, Pete decided to settle into a more specific time-frame and locale. The result is the Philadelphia & Erie, which is set sometime between 1965 and 1980 in Pennsylvania. Choosing this locale and time-frame allows Pete to model a wide variety of railroads while remaining within his budget. From the Pennsylvania Railroad to early Conrail, the P&E has it all.A Layout Is Born
The P&E measures 11' x 34' and is located in Pete's basement. Its super-elevated curves are a bit tight (39" to 44") due to the layout's classic 'half-basement' available space. Pete uses only
Atlas code 148 flextrack on the layout, placing Right O' Way's 4-bolt joint bars every 39 scale feet. All of the turnouts on the layout are Old Pullman's #5's and #6's. Those that are not powered by manual hand-throws are powered by Tortoise switch machines. Pete wanted the layout to look more realistic when viewed from a standing position, so he made the railhead 51" above the floor. The entire mainline and yard is powered by an NCE Powerhouse Pro-10 DCC system for total control.Industrial Railroading
The scenery matches the gritty, weathered look of old-city Northeastern railroading, where the railroad always seems to run through 'the good section of town' because it
came first and the city built up around it. Some of the structures are kits from Buildings Unlimited, Korber, Downtown Deco, and other, while others are kit-based or scratchbuilt. All have been heavily weathered to reflect that poorer section of town feel, with seedy businesses lining the trackside. Run down industries, bars, liquor stores, massage parlors, tenement housing, and more-- you'll find it all on the P&E. Even the freight cars can't escape the graffiti.
On the other side, a stable of former Erie Lackawanna SW-8's (left) wait to get some work done in the yard. As you can see, Conrail has come to town and has painted out the old EL logos and numbers, replacing them with CR stencils. Still, the crews are just as friendly as ever, always ready with a wave to the wandering
railfan. With the sun setting, the xEL 8692 (right) is just getting back into Sunbury with the local. He left in the morning with that old PC caboose on the rear of his train, and now its on the front. Always a good sign because it means that his work day is almost over and he's heading back into town. Stew, the crew's old timer trainman standing to the left of the shot, heads off down the tracks to throw the last switch before tying up.Bustling Towns
Another bustling area is Shamokin, a major hub for the Reading Company. Hundreds of hoppers a day would come down from the coal regions and then sent out on huge coal drags to Sunbury to the west or Reading to the south. The same is true on the P&E's Shamokin, where coal and ore drags go onto and come off of a twelve-foot extension of tracks.
To the right we see CR 8034, a recently repainted former PC GP-38-2, in the middle of a lash-up with a Conrail stenciled Reading caboose on one end and a repainted blue caboose on the other. The Reading Company extended-vision caboose, which is still fairly new, is scheduled to head out on the next train bound for Reading, where the crews in the old Reading Company car shops
will quickly repaint it blue. Actually, the local railfans are amazed that the caboose has lasted this long in its original colors. Knowing 94015's cream-and-green days are numbered, Pete snaps off a quick shot of the B-end details, then gets off a shot of the caboose as it passes into the sunset.A bit farther down the tracks another local job struggles to get his work done before he outlaws. The engineer of the 8625 (a former PC SW-8) is an old head by the name of "Fish." Actually, his real last name is
Haddock, but everyone has called him Fish since he signed onto the Reading Company. He normally works out of Spring Street in Reading, but he's trying out the water here for a while. Like a lot of the old-timers, Fish's days are numbered. After 35 years of service, he deserves some rest. Perhaps he can spend more time fishing?People Make The Layout
Model railroaders often spend countless hours detailing locomotives and equipment, getting buildings to look just right, and making sure the layout's scenery looks like
the prototype. Then they forget one important detail--people. Sure, they add a few railroad workers here and there, but their towns look empty and lifeless. This is not the case on the P&E, which has over 250 scale residents and counting. Many of them are ordinary people going about their business, while others are railroad workers. People definitely bring a layout to life and give a purpose to the railroad.P&E's Diesel Fleet
The P&E's locomotive models come from a number of different manufacturers, mainly Central Loco Works, Mike's Train House, Atlas, and Red Caboose. Unlike 3-rail (O gauge), where locomotives are 'selectively compressed'
so they can make it around narrow train-set curves, 2-rail O scale models are scaled to their proper size. Whereas in O gauge an SD-80MAC could be just as long (or short) as an SW-8, in O scale all locomotives will be properly scaled so that the SD-80MAC is huge along side the small switcher.Conclusion
While most modelers choose HO or N scale, Pete chose 2-rail O scale. If you like lots of detail, realistic on-board sound systems, and Northeastern railroading, you should give O scale a look. Plus it's not as expensive as you might think. Hopefully, Pete has inspired you to take that second look at a fascinating scale.
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