While visiting our home layout tours in the Duluth and Norcross areas, consider stopping in to see the model train layout (and much, much more!) on display at the Southeastern Railway Museum, 3595 Buford Highway in Duluth, GA. They will be open Sunday 1:00pm-5:00pm. (Admission fee required!) For more information, visit their website using the link below.
518 N Norcross Tucker Rd, Norcross, Georgia, 30071
Layout Description
The layout focuses on coal operations, time freights, and passenger trains of the Norfolk and Western Railway through the coalfields of West Virginia during 1958. The N&W rostered steam locomotives until May 1960, so you can witness the final years of their use in regular service alongside the new diesels that eventually replaced them. 1958 is also the year that Management leased first-generation diesels from neighboring railroads (including the PRR, ACL, and RF&P) to help expedite dieselization, offering the railfan a chance to witness some interesting patch jobs and diesel consists among the N&W's own new diesels. The layout is designed for prototype operations to keep 12 people busy for 3.5 hours. A fast clock is used so that time freight and passenger trains are scheduled to depart based on the actual 1958 Time Table.
Scale / Gauge
HO
Size of Layout
26 x 36 feet
Prototype
Norfolk and Western Railway - Pocahontas Division 1958
Location Modeled
Southwest West Virginia
Era
Transition Era
Style of Track Plan
Point-to-Point
Length of Main Line
389'
Layout Height
Double Deck: Lower level 42", Upper level 64"
Benchwork
Open Grid
Roadbed Material
Cork
Track Manufacturer
Atlas
Turnouts
Atlas
Minimum Main Line Radius
36"
Maximum Grade
1.7 %
Scenery Techniques
Painted plaster cloth over cardboard strips covered with ground foam and static grass, real rock ballast, plaster rocks made with molds, and puff ball tree canopies with foreground Super Trees.
% Scenery Complete
50 %
Backdrop
Painted Masonite
Control System
DCC - Digitrax
Car Forwarding System
Car Cards
Train Authority / Dispatching
Mother May I
Operating Group
JRAG - Joint Railway Association of Georgia
Direction Comment
Follow signage to backyard for parking, do not block driveway. Trains are located on the upper level of the red building.
