The AMRS

 

Home Work in Progress

 

Our Layout

Our club layout consists of two levels totaling approximately 2,000 square feet of viewable layout. The timeframe we have chosen to model is the mid-1900's (known as the steam-to-diesel transition era), as this realistically allows us to run our steam and diesel locomotives simultaneously. Many of the areas on the layout represent sections of the greater Hazleton area, and we have tried to recreate them as faithfully as we can. There are other areas, however, which are fictionalized and have been made available to our members so that they can "imagine-eer" things as they would like to see it.

   

The Upper Layout features -

bullet Drifton Breaker - One portion of the layout features a breaker located in the small town of Drifton, Pa. The breaker was built by Phil Myers and is a representative of the actual Drifton Breaker. The scenery was constructed and detailed by Hugh Jeffrey. Lights have been installed in the breaker and in the entrance to the mine. Please go to our More Photos page to see additional pictures.

 

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Ashmore yard - Ashmore_6_2001.JPG (21735 bytes)The Ashmore Yard was one of the first areas completed and wired. Here we see several locomotives at rest during mid afternoon. In the background is Ashmore's twelve stall roundhouse. This area was constructed by Hugh Jeffrey, our club President at the time, and is full of detail and well thought out construction. We have decided to totally redo this area and are now in the process of building the trackwork and replacing the turntable. See our Ashmore Project for details and progress reports.

 

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Eckley Miners village -  Eckley_scene02.JPG (20532 bytes)This area was modeled after a small company town built in the 1800's and located within a few miles of Hazleton. The prototype is presently owned and maintained by the state of Pennsylvania as it appeared in the late 1800s. Our rendition of it was scratch built by one of our former members, Frank Humenick, and is fully detailed and based on the original.

 

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Hazleton - Hazleton02_Nov_2001.JPG (28947 bytes)One of our newest members at the time, Walt Eckard, took an interest in the area and  built several scratchbuilt buildings. One of the features of this area is the iconic Markle building, a faithful recreation of one of Hazleton's landmark structures, built from scratch by Bill Gallagher. Another landmark structure we have on display is the Lehigh Valley's railroad station, scratchbuilt by member Hugh Jeffrey. 

 

bulletWeatherly - weatherly_12_03_01.JPG (28444 bytes) The streets and the sidings for freight have been installed. The scenery has also been finished along with several of the buildings.

 

 

    The Lower Level features -

bulletThe Gorge at Jim Thorpe -  Includes the river as it winds through Jim Thorpe, one of the main rail stations, our primary freight yard, the canal, and various other interesting features.  All the track, including the turnouts, are handlaid in code 83 blackened rail. The scenery in this picture shows a section of the river as it winds around the mountain.  Part of the river includes the canal and the locks that existed in an earlier age. Several of the canal barges are also shown and can be seen in operation. The bridge crossing the river adds a nice touch.

 

bulletThe main freight yard at Jim Thorpe -  Lehigh_Gorge_Nov_2001.JPG (34357 bytes) The yard at Jim Thorpe is composed of two main lines feeding our primary yard of four tracks, each of which is capable of holding approximately thirty cars. All of the track and most turnouts are handlaid using code 83 blackened track with all the turnouts being remotely controlled. The track shown on the other side of the Lehigh is the other main line going to our upper level.

 

bulletA section of the Bethlehem Steel facility -   has been constructed by club VP Tony Matukonis who worked at this facility for over twenty five years. Hugh Jeffrey worked with Tony to better blend in the scenery and structures.

 

bulletThole Valley.-  Thole_Valley02.jpg (20107 bytes) Is one of our fictional areas built by Dan Thole. The area is made up of a small town with a single engine house and several industries which are served by the 0-6-0 switcher stationed in the town. The majority of the buildings are Campbell and Woodland Scenic kits from Dan's former layout at his home.

 

bulletJim Thorpe - The town of Jim Thorpe was built by member Hugh Jeffrey. Hugh once again did a superb job of the scenery and layout of the town. Most of the buildings were scratch built by members Frank Humenick and Al Guard. They are faithful representations of those in the town during this time period, much of it as it exists today. The area is built on a removable table so we can perform needed track maintenance trackwork when necessary.

 

Updated 9/17/2019