Pittsburgh Union Railroad - HO Scale
When hobbies get out of hand, you never know just where they may take you. My attempt at model railroading turned out much better that I imagined. I want to thank other modlers who shared their methods and enthusiasm, and friends who encouraged me along the way to build my layout.
Growing up in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania in the 50's and 60's was exciting. I remember seeing steam locomotives hauling coal, steel, ore, slag, and other materials that made Pittsburgh "The Steel Capital of the World'. I saw diesel locomotives moving boxcars full of consumables that fed the city residents and those in adjoining counties every day. Trains crossing rivers, trains in the hills of western Pennsylvania, and trains along the flats of a river or the countryside, always caught my attention.
At home, we had two American Flyer locomotives and about a dozen pieces of rolling stock. Each year at Christmas, we set up ‘the platform’, put together the Plasticville structures, and wired the layout to run in an oval with a couple of turnouts. Times and technology have changed. After retirement, I somehow managed to renew my interest in model railroading, and as a result, would like to share with you my modest piece of Pittsburgh nostalgia.
Please view and enjoy my efforts and those who helped guide and inspire this model railroad. I will attempt in the following pages to show how this was built from early visions to complete dioramas. Feel free to contact me with your questions and comments, and thanks for taking the time to see:
The Pittsburgh Union Railroad - HO Scale.
Denny G Durst
This is the original Pittsburgh mural. The layout is in the 1946 - 1966 era, with few exceptions, all the locomotives, rolling stock, cars, structures, and scenery are from that era. This mural however is a 2009 version of the skyline of Pittsburgh as seen from Mt. Washington. This portion of the railroad might be a bit like the Strip District of Pittsburgh, but with some artistic license, it includes Heinz, Westinghouse, Clark Bar, The Pittsburgh Press, J&L Steel transfer station, Penn Brewery, and other structures you might find there around Pittsburgh in 1950.
This was the first structure I built. Found it on Ebay without instructions. Looked like Heinz, so that is what it became on the layout. The sign on top, by Miller Engineering, works like the real one. Clark manufacturing on the Northside was available from Miller Engineering, so it was a natural for this layout.
Westinghouse had those wonderful logos that never lit up the same way twice. It was placed on the northside of Pittsburgh in the 60's. We were mesmerized by the simple 9-piece neon light logos. They would never light up in the same sequence twice!
Here you will also find Ruben's Bait & Sushi, DePietro's Brewery, and The Pittsburgh Press.
In the picture above, the billboard on the streetcar reads 'Kennywood'.
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Here is a Mobil Oil fuel transfer station. Mobil Oil employed my father for many years. Behind is Kaufman's Warehouse and Jones & Laughlin Steel transer station. Just out of sight are two billboards, Duquesne Beer and Sealtest Milk.
The photo above shows a view up the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers. To the right is a roundhouse with the Edgar Thompson works in the background. That is Turtle Creek next to the Edgar Thompson works. Other named structures in this portion of the layout are Iron City Brewery, Mike Feinstein Co., Pennsylvania Macaroni, Wholeys Seafood, and Roseto's Restaurant.
