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Joe Green The C&O's Ryder Gap Subdivision is an HO scale, proto-freelanced switching layout set in the mountains of Virginia in May 1974. Four crews work the subdivision's industries, including Back Creek Paper, Mill Gap Lumber, and Highland Chemical. In addition, crews switch the yards and run the locals necessary to support the operation. A typical operating session lasts 4+ hours. Scenes, track plans, and modeling are heavily inspired by the railroad's operations in Covington VA, Thurmond WV, and Cass WV. Compression within scenes is 2 to 1 or less in a 930 ft.² room. This allows track lengths, numbers of tracks, and train lengths to be reasonably close to the prototype. It is May 1974 in the mountains of Virginia. No one is in a hurry. Come and enjoy the challenges of prototype switching operations in a relatively low stress environment! Published sources:
Model Railroad Planning (2021), Railroad Model Craftsman (April 2023, December 2023, November 2024, October 2025), and Model Railroader (October 2023)
In addition, there is a second, smaller switching layout in the train room - the J&B Railway! It is a freelanced layout set in the Pacific Northwest in 1985. Scenery and structures are underway. Three of the four crews will spend part of their time operating on the J&B during the session. It takes about 2 1/4 to 2 1/2 hours to get from SeaTac to our house. It takes roughly 3 hours to get from our house to Bellevue using the Bainbridge ferry, depending on what time of day it is. My assumption is that operators will spend the night in Sequim the night before the Thursday or Monday sessions. |