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Our Pike
Our Club's layout consists of two levels, with a total of approximately 2000
sq. ft. of viewable layout. The era we have chosen to model is that of the
1940's, as this allows us to run both our diesel and steam locomotives. Most of
the areas on the layout represent sections in the Hazleton area and we have
tried to recreate them as close as we can. There are other areas however, which
are fictionalized, and have been made available to our members so that they can
run free with their imagination of railroading as they would like to see it.
The Upper Layout Portrays -
 | New - Drifton Breaker -  We've recently completed a
portion of the layout featuring 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 -  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 President, 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 -
 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 -
 Is
complete for the most part. However there are several areas where we will be
adding additional buildings more representative of the area. One of our
newest members, Walt Eckard, has taken an interest in the area and is now
working on a scratch built building. It should make a dandy addition to the
complex. Stay tuned to see the results. One of the features of this area is the Markle building, a faithful recreation of one of Hazleton's well know
structures, built from scratch by Bill Gallagher. Another structure we have on
display is the Lehigh Valley station built by Hugh Jeffrey. This structure was
also scratch built by Hugh, and is a detailed replica of this locally famous
landmark. |
| Weatherly -
Is under construction and is approximately 75% complete. The streets and the
sidings for freight have been installed. The scenery has also been finished
along with several of the buildings. Other buildings are in construction and
as they are completed they will be added to this area. |
| Cross Creek -
 is
one of our newer areas to be completed and was built by a group of our core
members. Robby
Kransteuber, Hugh Jeffrey, Phil Myers, Dan Thole, and Manny Koch. The idea and
early construction belong to Robby as does the underlying foundation, while Hugh
Jeffrey did a large portion of the scenery. The track, wiring, and some
of the other work were completed by the others. The area was built to represent a small logging
facility. A narrow gauge shortline was included to transport lumber to the
coal facilities located on another part of the layout near Hazleton. |
| The Junk Yard - is another of our member's fun spots. Jack Shelly has
created a salvage yard to cut up obsolete steam
 engines
and reclaim the metal. (The steam members of our club almost voted Jack out of
the club for this) Jack has had a lot of fun building this site and has spent
considerable time building in lots of detail. |
The Lower Level Contains -
| The 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. It is
nearly complete with the main line and yard track finished. 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. |
| The main freight yard at Jim Thorpe -
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 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. |
| A section of the Bethlehem Steel facility - 
has been constructed by Tony Matukonis who worked at this facility for over
twenty five years. He is presently finishing up details on the cranes and raw
steel storage area. Hugh Jeffrey has recently worked with Tony to better blend
in the scenery and structures. |
| Thole Valley.-
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. |
| Jim Thorpe -
 The
town of Jim Thorpe has recently been finished by Hugh Jeffrey. Hugh has once
again done a superb job of the scenery and layout of the town. Most of the
buildings are 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 get in
and work on the Lehigh Valley trackwork when necessary. |
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