Matt Hewitt's HO Scale Shadowton Ridge Northern

 

 

Matt's layout is one of the premier HO scale layouts in the nation . . . it was described in the October 2010 issue of Model Railroader magazine.  It is also featured in the 2016 NMRA's annual membership calendar (check out March 2016!).

 

The roughly 30' x 45' foot, double-deck layout depicts the Appalachian countryside of West Virgina in the mid-1950s.  The mainline extends over 300 feet; a helix helps traffic move between levels.  A Digitrax Digital Command Control system is used for operating the pike.

 

As labeled on the tender (at right), the railroad is offically known as the Shadowton Ridge Northern.  This impressive bridge crosses Elk Lake at Piney Grove, WV.  Long coal trains rumble across the bridge day and night.

 

A better view of the kit-basehed structure is shown below, at left. Besides the ruggid scenery, numerous towns are found around the pike.  A town scene (which looks right out of the 1950s!) is included below, at right.

Many coal facilities are found along the mainline, creating heavy traffic for the Shadowton Ridge Northern.  The entire pike includes realistic scenes, like the action shown at right.

 

Note: The trackplan for this layout is archived in the Track Plan Database at ModelRailroader.com