Pennsylvania Railroad, Middle Division

The Middle Division is a freelanced layout based on the Pennsylvania RR in the Harrisburg area. A double track mainline represents one division. Operation is point-to-point to a staging yard. There is significant passenger operation at the Harrisburg station, where engines are exchanged, including change from steam to electric. There are two interchanges. one with the Reading and one with the B&O. There are two major branches.

A typical operating session includes three to four mainline freights, three to four mainline passenger trains, and three to four locals. There is a busy hostler operation changing engines at Harrisburg and Enola.

Jobs include one dispatcher, five yard jobs (including Harrisburg engine, Enola yard, Port yard and Harrisburg passenger station), five mainline trains and three tower operators.

Ed's railroad was featured in the April 2015 Model Railroader magazine

   cincy-div7.org/Swain.JPG

Layout Owner

Ed Swain

Location

Middletown, OH

Scale

HO

Layout Size

500 square feet

Mainline Size

150 ft

Era

1945-50

Crew Complement

10 - 15

Completion

Track: 100%
Scenery: 85%
Electrical: 100%

Control System

NCE

Communications System

Wayside phones

Dispatching Method

Dispatcher communicates to tower operators who clear trains with local signals.

Pets

Yes - Dog