POCO VALLEY RAILROAD

Ken Nelson

Ken Nelson's Poco Valley Railroad is a 15'x25' freelanced railroad serving the northeastern states of Massachusetts, New York, and Pennsylvania, with an additional 7'x10' around the wall branch line representing an industrial railroad. The layout's time frame is 1955-1965 and features a single track mainline from Boston, MA to Jefferson Junction, PA both represented by staging. Freight and passenger trains pass through Nelson City, Mt. Crumroy, Klingertown, Scottsdale, and Hillside Jct. The Hillside Branch leaves the main at Hillside Jct. and passes through Rockville and Hillside where it interchanges with the Hillside Street Railway, a former trolley line which now provides diesel service to the Hillside Industrial Park and the town of Coopersburg. The PV interchanges with the Boston and Maine in Boston, the Delaware and Hudson in Klingertown, the Erie Lackawanna in Hillside Jct., and the New York Central in Jefferson Jct.

Contact Info Ken Nelson
Scotia, NY
518-377-7176
pocovalley@msn.com

Layout at a glance Name: Poco Valley Railroad
Scale: HO
Size: 15'x25' and 7'x10'
Prototype: Freelanced
Locale: Northeast
Era: 1955-1965
Style: Walkaround
Mainline Run: 150'
Min. Radius: 30" Mainline; 24" Staging
Minimum Turnout: #6 Main; #5 Industrial
Maximum Grade: 2% Main; 4% Branch
Benchwork: Open grid
Height: 44" lowest; 52" highest
Roadbed: Cork over plywood
Track: Code 100 PV; Code 83 HSR
Scenery: Plaster over screen 100% complete
Backdrop: Commercial
Control: DCC - North Coast Engineering

Operating positions: Chambers Yardmaster: Most difficult position. Makes up and breaks down all trains originating or terminating in Nelson City. Afternoon yardmaster also serves a few local industries.
Road Crews: 3 positions Operate all trains on mainline including through and local freights and passenger trains.
Hillside Street Railway: Operates the HSR, interchanging with the PV in Hillside and serves the Hillside Industrial Park and the town of Coopersburg.
Dispatcher: Controls train movement. The dispatcher is usually the host.

Comments: A typical operating session lasts about 2 to 2½ hours. Sequence operation is used, with a 24 hour day divided into three sessions: Morning, Afternoon, and Evening. One of these sessions constitutes an operating session. Mainline turnouts are controlled by both dispatcher and crews. Most are controlled by push buttons on the fascia, with HSR turnouts controlled by hand throws. The mainline is signaled. The layout is not handicap accessible.

Most recent update: 2008 December 21
To Hartford Convention Layout Page
To OpSIG Home Page