Several HARM members recently spent a weekend exploring some outstanding model railroads during the annual Mainline Hobby Supply Layout Tour. The event provided a great opportunity to travel through Pennsylvania and surrounding areas, visit layouts normally tucked away in private homes and clubs, and enjoy two full days of model railroading with friends.
Our travels took us to an impressive variety of layouts representing N, HO, S, O (both 2-rail and 3-rail), and G scales. The layouts ranged from compact home railroads to expansive model railroad empires, each offering its own approach to scenery, operations, track planning, and prototype modeling. With the tour taking place in Western Maryland territory, it was especially interesting to see several layouts devoted to different portions and eras of the Western Maryland Railway.
Saturday's travels included visits to the Canadian Central Railway, Western Maryland Railway layouts of Jay Voight and Larry Thompson, the Keystone Southern, Brian Wolfe's Western Maryland Railway — Blue Ridge Division, the Quincy Model Railroad Club, Dave Moltrup's Beaver Falls & Shenango Railroad, the Hagerstown Roundhouse Museum, and Mike Shockey's Great Northern Railway: Spokane Division.
The tour continued Sunday with another full schedule. Stops included Bob Morningstar's Western Maryland, Joe Goodrich's Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad — Middle Division, David Sullivan's Allegheny Corridor RR, Steve King's Virginia Midland Railway, David Vaughn's Canandaigua Southern, and David Hughes' Western Maryland Railway.
One of the best parts of a layout tour like this is seeing how other modelers solve the same challenges we all encounter in the hobby. Whether it was a clever track arrangement, realistic scenery, an interesting operating scheme, or a particularly well-modeled scene, nearly every stop provided an idea or two to take home.
Of course, spending the weekend traveling from railroad to railroad with fellow modelers was just as enjoyable as the layouts themselves. The Mainline Hobby Supply Layout Tour continues to be a great way to experience the hobby beyond our own layouts and operating group, and we appreciate the many layout owners who opened their homes and shared their railroads with us. Thanks also to everyone involved in organizing the tour and making another enjoyable weekend of model railroading possible!
