This HO railroad's name is the N&W "Pokey" Division, set in the hills in West Virginia and Virginia, circa 1960. Many new mallet locomotive have been added to the fleet which encompasses the N&W and the Virginian with some help from other southeastern railroads. Fall colors abound with plenty of new trees. The coal operations feature two working loadouts with a rotary dumper at the dock area. The railroad uses the Lenz DCC system with some radio throttles. Train traffic is controlled with verbal track warrants with operators controlling most train movements; the dispatcher controls overall traffic flow. Report on op session by Mike O'Brien. |
We enjoyed an all-day operating session on Mike's layout in Chicago during a convention in April 2006. The layout makes a big first impression, with long aisles, multiple decks, many big articulated steam locomotives (mostly double-headed!), and many large industries. The layout is well lighted with a fluorescent valance. The lower deck is lit with strings of small incandescent lights. Operations use car cards and waybills for switching. Dispatching is casual, with Mike the owner authorizing train movements, and two tower operators who work interlocking panels controlling operating signals--thus train movement on the main line is by signal indication. Mike's emphasis is on fun and having a good time, so the operating session is loosely structured and unstressful. The captions for each photo should be self-explanatory. Enjoy the visit! And thank you, Mike, for sharing your layout.
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Email contact: mike at (@) corbu.us -- Mike O'Brien, Pasadena, CA