Main Layout

The Mid-Monongahela Valley Model Railroad Club built and maintains a large HO scale layout that is permanently housed at our club location. The layout basic construction is finished but continuing work involves addition of scenery details and occasional modifications when the need arises. The basic track plan is in place and the electronics to control the trains is working well. We’re always coming up with new ideas as technology evolves or just to try something different on the layout. Of course, there is always maintenance, too.

Track Plan Drawing

A drawing of the track plan of our layout can be viewed or downloaded by clicking here. Like the layout itself, the map is also a work in progress. Most of the details are in place but small corrections are made on an ongoing basis.

Our layout is confined to 3 rooms of the upstairs of our club building. There are some holes cut through the walls to allow tracks to pass through to make the layout a continuous running layout from room to room. The mainline represents the Pennsylvania Railroad line along the west bank of the Monongahela River in our area back in the 1950’s when the steel industry dominated this valley. Besides steel, we have also tried to include some of the other representative railroad customers in that era.

As trains travel from one terminal to the other, they will pass through the entire layout on both the upper and lower levels. The tracks enter a spiral pathway (labeled “helix” in the drawings) to allow trains to move from one level to the other during their trip. The helix has extra tracks in it to allow storage of complete trains out of view from normal railroad operating activities.

Interurban Line

Our layout also includes an interurban electric trolley line that existed in this area. It is modeled after the Charleroi Interurban Line that started construction at the end of the 19th century in Monongahela City. It later became part of the Pittsburgh Railways Co. Interurban System until well into the 20th century. Some sections of the original interurban trackwork are part of today’s Pittsburgh Regional Transit “Silver Line”, further north in Pittsburgh. All of the track in the area shown on the map has been long gone for many years.

Interurban Area Map

A map snippet of the Mid-Mon Valley area interurban lines which were in use into the mid 20th century. On our layout, we have a depiction of Monongahela City at one end of the upper level with the trolley line running down the main street. The trolley line winds through the entire upper level of the layout to the last room which has our version of Allenport.