The Plan

The idea to model the Pine Creek Railroad in New Jersey came to me on 4 January 2010 as a result of a Google search for dual-gauge track. I was looking for a new Z scale tracklaying challenge, and was considering an interchange between two railroads, one narrow-gauge, the other standard-gauge. While Pine Creek does not constitute such an arrangement, it still met my criteria, and provided additional unanticipated modeling opportunities. The entire railroad is encompassed by the view below (click the image to explore).

The other criteria for the project was my available layout space, which is 18 by 47 inches. Working with satellite images, I determined that I could model the Pine Creek yard almost foot-for-foot, which further cemented the choice. I used these images to create the initial plan shown below. Gridlines are on 12-inch centers.

Although the plan is quite faithful to the actual Pine Creek yard, I confess that I did deviate from reality just a tiny bit: I rearranged the scenery to the right of the yard, opening up the band of trees to allow the grassy field to reach the tracks. I did this with the intention of featuring a special park event—an antique auto show—in order to provide something interesting to see there besides just grass and a maybe few picnickers. I also trimmed the trees back a little along the left front edge so that the trackwork is not obscured—after all, the track is pretty much the raison d'être of the layout!

The track at each end of the layout simply disappears into the trees, just as it does in real life, to pass through the backdrop and loop around out of sight. It's a simple plan that gives me almost everything I'd wanted.

About this website

I created this website to share my adventure with other Z scale model railroaders, or anyone interested in trains, modeling, miniatures or the like. I build websites for a living, so it comes as naturally as modeling—which I've been doing for over 40 years. The large graphic on the home page, by the way, is a photograph of the actual sign at the Pine Creek Railroad, which I "photoshopped" to reflect the modeling project. I hope you find something worthwhile at this website.

Where to now?

Newcomers to the website will likely want to know how the layout is being built. There's a detailed step-by-step construction diary that should answer most of your questions. Currently the layout is in its earliest stages, so I hope that you'll be inspired to return often to watch the project grow.

 
Return Home