Fred Stout's Pennsy Schurekill Division

The Name

The name Schurekill came about over 40 years ago while living in Philadelphia . It is a slang term for an infamous local expressway that was (is?) the scene of many accidents hence the “sure (to) kill” moniker. It has stuck with me ever since. My railroad, and its many variations, has always been the Schurekill Division of the Pennsylvania Railroad.

The Railroad

The Schurekill division is an imaginary secondary mainline connecting Pittsburgh and Harrisburg which was originally built to ease the burden of the mainline. The line departs the original mainline at East Pittsburgh and runs through southern Pennsylvania to Uniontown. From Uniontown, the line runs toward Harrisburg connecting with the original mainline at Enola. This version of the Schurekill Division is set in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s. Most locomotives are diesels (RS-3, E-8, PA, F’s, etc). It’s rare but some steam may be seen operating on the division. The Black Cat Coal Company operates a large coal mine online and part of their 1893 shipping agreement is that the Pennsylvania will always by coal from the mine to power its locomotives.

Construction

The basic benchwork is totally made out of ¾” plywood and held together with drywall screws. One unusual factor is that the entire benchwork was built assuming the floor was level, which it is. There are no risers, just joists. Joists are covered with ¾” plywood.

The Schurekill operates in my basement and runs through walls so that three rooms and a small storage room are connected by track. The overall dimensions are about 28’ by 65’. There is a 100’ backdrop in the main train room that, hopefully, provides some idea as to what southern Pennsylvania might look like.

The Layout and Operation

The Schurekill Division is a 2-rail “O” scale layout and is designed for operation. There are 4 rooms in my basement that house the railroad. They are the “Staging Room”, “The Bedroom”, “The Pump Room”, and the “Train Room”. The staging room has a 6 track loop for storing and turning trains. The middle room, that will remain available as a bedroom if need be, houses the connecting track and switches for the staging room as well as a connection to the Western Maryland. The Western Maryland interchange is actually in the Pump Room. The Pump Room serves as a connector between the bedroom and Train room as well as the location of some shelving to act as an “off railroad” car storage facility. The railroad is actually a single track line that wraps around the train room twice before coming to Uniontown where there is a return loop. Thus, the track from Pittsburgh to Uniontown is the same track operated on as from Uniontown to Harrisburg . All track components are standard Atlas “O” products. The track is code 148 NS and the switches are #5 and #7.5. There are no plans for special track work at this time.

Control

The railroad will be a DCC-controlled system. There will be 5 power districts and 22 signal districts. A signal district, as the name implies, is established should I wish to add signals in the future. The signal districts are installed now but all are jumpered out

Operation

The operation of the railroad will be by computer-generated switch lists. I am researching which system to use. The Schurekill division will interchange with two other railroads. The B&O interchange at Frockton is a working interchange. There will be B&O power to switch the B&O industries in Frockton which includes the monster power plant that takes coal from the Black Cat Mine. The Western Maryland interchange (in the “Pump Room”) is really a way to get cars off and on the railroad.

Status

As of December 5, 2008 , the plywood sub roadbed has been put down and painted with “ Pennsylvania dirt color” brown paint. Some of the mainline track centers have been marked on the sub roadbed. It is expected that something will be running by Christmas.