Scale
HO Scale
Status
Active
Clock Speed
5:1 at Beginning, then Sequence Operation
Communication
None
Control
MRC Prodigy - Tethered and Wireless
Crew Size
12
Dispatching
Verbal Train Orders from Roving Dispatcher
Era
1957
Forwarding
Switch Lists
Interchange
Lehigh Valley RR, Raritan River RR
Layout Size
21' x 34' and 8' x 12' Staging
Locale
New Jersey
Subdivision
NY & Long Branch
Superintendent
Kevin Surman
Description: The New York & Long Branch Railroad is loosely based on the prototype which connected the industrial north to the Jersey Shore. The railroad is operated by both the Central Railroad of New Jersey and Pennsylvania. It is set around 1957 and has an interchange with the Lehigh Valley in Perth Amboy and the Raritan River at South Amboy. The layout is 21’ x 34’ with a new second level and additional 8’ x 12’ staging area. Motive power includes steam, diesel, and some electric under catenary. MRC Prodigy Advance DCC system is used for control, with 8 throttles used by operators during monthly operating sessions. The operating sessions normally start with a fast clock set 5 to 1, and the session is run with train order, switch list, and operating signals until around the middle of the session when the clock is stopped and sequence operation is used. Most of the local freights and drills are run during the sequence operation.
The host is masterful at capturing the essence and feel of scenic locations along the New York and Long Branch Railroad from the busy passenger operations in downtown Newark to the salt marshes along the Jersey coast, to the highly industrialized areas around Perth Amboy and South Amboy, and to the small town destinations of Atlantic Highlands and Red Bank. There are numerous award winning scratch built structures throughout the layout.
This layout is featured in Model Railroader November 2013. It is also featured in NMRA@Home virtual Tour http://www.nmra.org/sites/default/files/SR201502Tour1.pdf.
Access: Entry is via the side door into the house, then down 5 steps to the basement. Entry into the layout is walk-in.
