The Beginnings
I received my first HO locomotive on my 12th birthday, a Lionel (Athearn), rubber-band drive, New York Navy Yard, Hustler, along with a few Athearn freight car kits. I also received a copy of "Model Railroad" magazine. These items sparked a life-long interest in model railroading. The year was 1957. (The loco in the photo on the right is not my first locomotive, but a similar one that was given to me by my cousin Ed Materkowski.)
Up to this point my only exposure to model railroading was the annual Lionel "O"gauge Christmas layouts that my father, uncles and friend's fathers set up. It was obvious after reading my first issue of "Model Railroader" that most true model railroaders worked in HO scale (Note to those who model in other gauges, this was my opinion as a 12 year old!). Good bye Lionel Trains! A few months later I received an HO scale Tyco/Mantua "General" passenger train set for Christmas and I was on my way.
My first HO scale layout was constructed in 1958, using the 4' X 8' platform that my Dad had used for our Lionel Christmas layouts. This layout, called the Oyster Bay RR, was nothing more than an oval of track. The layout featured a paper mache mountain with a tunnel, a painted lake (Oyster Bay) and a balsa wood covered bridge, my first "scratch built" structure. The layout evolved into the Hutchinson & Southern Railroad when I added a pre-sceniced section that was given to me by my Uncle Stan Materkowski. The section, which was part of a large HO scale layout that my Uncle had purchased, featured a beautiful curved trestle. This new section, with its state-of-the-art scenicing, made the rest of my layout look pretty shabby. After little thought I tore down that first layout and started building a new one from a track plan I found in the book "101 Track Plans". This new layout was called the Smokey Mountain Gorge RR (SMGRR).
Up to this point my only exposure to model railroading was the annual Lionel "O"gauge Christmas layouts that my father, uncles and friend's fathers set up. It was obvious after reading my first issue of "Model Railroader" that most true model railroaders worked in HO scale (Note to those who model in other gauges, this was my opinion as a 12 year old!). Good bye Lionel Trains! A few months later I received an HO scale Tyco/Mantua "General" passenger train set for Christmas and I was on my way.
My first HO scale layout was constructed in 1958, using the 4' X 8' platform that my Dad had used for our Lionel Christmas layouts. This layout, called the Oyster Bay RR, was nothing more than an oval of track. The layout featured a paper mache mountain with a tunnel, a painted lake (Oyster Bay) and a balsa wood covered bridge, my first "scratch built" structure. The layout evolved into the Hutchinson & Southern Railroad when I added a pre-sceniced section that was given to me by my Uncle Stan Materkowski. The section, which was part of a large HO scale layout that my Uncle had purchased, featured a beautiful curved trestle. This new section, with its state-of-the-art scenicing, made the rest of my layout look pretty shabby. After little thought I tore down that first layout and started building a new one from a track plan I found in the book "101 Track Plans". This new layout was called the Smokey Mountain Gorge RR (SMGRR).
This SMGRR, shown above, was constructed during the summer of 1960. The layout was once again built on top of the old Lionel 4' X 8' platform. The curved trestle, from my Uncle Stan, is in the foreground of this photo. As you can see, except for the trestle section, the scenery was horrible! The scenery was constructed of chicken wire covered with paper mache, and then covered with plaster of Paris. Additions were made to the front of the layout for a small yard and to the far side of the layout where I constructed a baseball field. Baseball was very much on my mind that summer, as my beloved Pittsburgh Pirates went on to win the National League Pennant and then beat the New York Yankees in the World Series.
Although this layout did not look or run the best, building the SMGRR allowed me to develop some basic model railroad construction skills that have served me well as I went forward in the hobby.
Although this layout did not look or run the best, building the SMGRR allowed me to develop some basic model railroad construction skills that have served me well as I went forward in the hobby.
Building the Red Mountain Railroad
In 1961 my Dad took my brother, younger sister and I, along with my Uncle Stan and his three sons, to both Gettysburg and the East Broad Top Railroad. I was intrigued by the EBT and how it connected with the PRR at Mt. Union, PA, and decided to plan my next model railroad along a similar theme.
Due to school demands and summer employment, the next model railroad stayed only in my mind until 1964. During the summer of that year I stayed with my paternal Grandmother, due to the death of my Grandfather earlier in the year, and worked as a gofer at my uncles' construction company. The time away from home allowed me to plan the Red Mountain Railroad and to begin building structures for the railroad. In August of that year, before I returned to college, I built the first RMRR on the old 4' X 8' platform, which was now 12 years old.
Due to school demands and summer employment, the next model railroad stayed only in my mind until 1964. During the summer of that year I stayed with my paternal Grandmother, due to the death of my Grandfather earlier in the year, and worked as a gofer at my uncles' construction company. The time away from home allowed me to plan the Red Mountain Railroad and to begin building structures for the railroad. In August of that year, before I returned to college, I built the first RMRR on the old 4' X 8' platform, which was now 12 years old.
The first RMRR contained several scratch built structures (over 50 years later two of these structures are on my current layout), two 1930's era Lionel metal houses, an enginehouse that was kitbashed from a Plasticville O-gauge fire station, plus several plastic and cardboard kits. Although it is not clear in the photo to the right, there was also a figure-8 trolley line embedded in the plaster of Paris streets.
I was fairly proud of this layout but I wanted to make it bigger. I still had the curved trestle section from the previous layouts that I wanted to include, plus I had visions of a huge mountain that would dwarf the trains. This mountain, of course, was to be Red Mountain. College kept me from any further layout work until the following summer, but layout planning and structure building continued. |
Enlarging the RMRR & building Red Mountain
During the summer of 1965 I began construction of Red Mountain and a connection to it from the 4' X 8' layout. The photo below on the left shows the connection to Red Mountain during the construction phase. The section with the curved trestle is in place and all track has been laid. Scenery was paper mache over chicken wire covered with a layer of wood fiber plaster. In the right hand photo below you can see the completed scene. The locomotive in the foreground is RMRR no. 25, a Varney Old Lady 2-8-0. It is is approaching the tunnel entrance with a string of reefers. In the background, coming out of the tunnel, is a freight pulled by RMRR no. 26, a Tyco 4-6-2. This addition was completed in August 1965. The scene looked pretty nice but the trackwork was bad and the trains did not run very well. I was not happy with how the addition turned out, so Red Mountain would last less than a year.
Lengthening the RMRR
When I returned home from college for Christmas break I decided to try and fix the layout and keep Red Mountain. First I tore out the connecting track between the 4' X 8' platform and the Red Mountain section. Then I rotated the platform 90 degrees and moved it down the back wall 8 feet away from Red Mountain. I filled in the vacated area with a 5' X 5' square section, attaching this section to the platform and then building another connecting section to reach Red Mountain. The layout was now 19' long and nearly 9' wide at Red Mountain. The photo at the left was taken from the far end of the layout, looking back at Red Mountain. I never finished the scenery in the new section before I had to go back to school. While at college that winter I determined that what I had done was nothing more than a band-aid fix. Red mountain had to go.
The Red Mountain Railroad, as it was at the end of 1965, is depicted in the track plan below.
The Red Mountain Railroad, as it was at the end of 1965, is depicted in the track plan below.
The Final Configuration
During the summer of 1966 I tore apart the section that I had built in December of the previous year and used the material to build a new addition to the original 4' X 8' section. This would be the final configuration of the first RMRR. The layout was now "L" shaped and Red Mountain along with the curved trestle was now gone and replaced by a hill scene. I put a station on this new section and called it Hillside. In this final configuration I finally had a model railroad that operated well and also looked pretty good. The only change I made over the next two years was the removal of the farm and plowed field at the corner of the "L" and the addition of a small classification yard in its place.
In 1967 I submitted several photos to "Railroad Model Craftsman" magazine. The following two were published in the magazines "Boomer Trail" section. The photo on the left was published in the February 1967 issue and the one on the right in the March 1967 issue. I was paid $5.00 for each photo.
The Demise of the First RMRR
While in my senior year at college I spent a lot of time at the local hobby shop looking at N scale trains. Because they were much smaller than HO scale I could envision a huge N scale layout in the basement at home. I had already secured a job starting two days after my graduation, so I would finally have the money to build my dream layout. After I graduated in June 1968 I began dismantling the RMRR. Later that summer I began construction of a large N scale layout that by the end of 1969 was completed except for scenery. The track was laid, the electrical work was complete and the railroad operated beautifully. I could flawlessly run 40 car freight trains. Then in February 1970 I met my wife-to-be on a blind date. The N-scale layout was never completed.