“Model railroading is truly an art form, and viewing it in that light can often inspire something beyond what we would normally imagine.” – Ken Karlewicz
Step through the doorway and the year resets to the summer of 1979. The Delaware & Hudson still thunders across upstate New York, its Second Subdivision alive with the deep growl of ALCOS, the peeling paint of trackside industry, and the lived-in texture of small-town America. This HO scale recreation is more than a model railroad. It is mood, memory, and handcrafted time machine.
A Sense of Place
Ken’s guiding principle was always about authenticity. “If my railroad doesn’t look enough like a full-size railroad, then I’m not looking hard enough at its prototype.” Every element is tuned to that standard: the overgrown siding where a lone covered hopper rests, the flaking paint on the Agway elevator, the tired ballast lying under the weight of daily service.
Set between Worcester and Central Bridge in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the line distils the essence of D&H territory. Northbound WR-1 brushes past RPPY in the shadow of shale cliffs. RS-3s creep along the Cherry Valley Branch at a lazy 10 mph. A trio of C-420s drift downgrade past the cement plant at Howes Cave.
The Layout at a Glance
- Name: Delaware & Hudson Second Subdivision
- Scale: HO (1:87.1)
- Size: 18 x 19 feet (main room), plus adjacent bedroom for staging
- Prototype: Delaware & Hudson, Albany & Susquehanna Division
- Era: Summer of 1979 to 1980
- Locale: Upstate New York
- Style: Around-the-walls shelf layout
- Mainline Run: 50 feet
- Minimum Radius: 37″ (main), 20″ (elsewhere)
- Turnouts: Minimum no. 5
- Maximum Grade: 1%
- Train Length: Up to 20 cars with 3-unit lash-ups
- Height: 53″
- Control System: NCE DCC with wireless throttles
- Power Districts: Four
- Staging: Dual-ended, scenicked, accessed via curved turnouts
Construction and Materials
Benchwork is cantilevered L-girder shelving, freeing floor space. The subroadbed combines ¾” plywood and 1″ extruded foam, with Woodland Scenics Trackbed adhered by foam-safe adhesive. Micro Engineering flextrack in Codes 83, 70 and 55 brings prototypical variation.
Operational in a year, the layout was realised through collaboration with veteran builder Don Buesing. Working two 10-hour days each week and staying over between sessions, Don and Ken designed, built, and scenicked almost side by side—an unusually intensive rhythm that gave the railway its polish.
Motive Power and Rolling Stock
The locomotives are pure D&H: ALCO RS-3s, RS-11s, C-424s, and GE U23Bs. Each has been custom painted, weathered, and detailed by Southern Tier Modelworks or Bob Harpe, and fitted with ESU LokSound decoders by Mike Rose of Dartmouth Locomotive Works.
| Reporting Mark | Number | Road/Company | Colour | Prototype | Model | Seen | N Scale |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D&H | 401 | Delaware & Hudson | Ex Lehigh & Hudson River Railway | ALCO C-420 | By Southern Tier Modelworks. | ||
| D&H | 408 | Delaware & Hudson | Lightning Stripe | ALCO C-420 | Model Railroad Planning 2019 | ||
| D&H | 414 | Delaware & Hudson | ex Lehigh Valley Red | ALCO C-420 | |||
| D&H | 452 | Delaware & Hudson | Blue Dip | ALCO C424 | Model Railroad Planning 2019 / YouTube – HO Scale Delaware and Hudson Train NE 87 | ||
| D&H | 503 | Delaware & Hudson | Lightning Stripe | ALCO RS3U | Detailed and weathered by Robert Harpe | ||
| D&H | 755 | Delaware & Hudson | Lightning Stripe | GE U33C | By Southern Tier Modelworks. | ||
| D&H | 756 | Delaware & Hudson | Lightning Stripe | GE U33C | By Southern Tier Modelworks. | ||
| D&H | 2311 | Delaware & Hudson | Grey | GE U23B | Model Railroad Planning 2019 / YouTube U23Bs at Cobleskill | Atlas 45982/47951 | |
| D&H | 2312 | Delaware & Hudson | Blue Dip | GE U23B | Facebook / YouTube U23Bs at Cobleskill | ||
| D&H | 2313 | Delaware & Hudson | Lightning Stripe | GE U23B | Model Railroad Planning 2019 / Facebook | ||
| D&H | 4103 | Delaware & Hudson | Lightning Stripe | ALCO RS3 | Detailed, custom painted and weathered by Robert Harpe | Model Railroad Planning 2019 / Facebook | Kato 176-4503 ★ |
| D&H | 5002 | Delaware & Hudson | Blue Dip | ALCO RS11 | |||
| D&H | 5005 | Delaware & Hudson | Lightning Stripe | ALCO RS11 | Model Railroad Planning 2019 | ||
| D&H | 5009 | Delaware & Hudson | Lightning Stripe | ALCO RS11 | Model Railroad Planning 2019 | ||
| D&H | 5015 | Delaware & Hudson | Blue Dip | ALCO RS36 | |||
| D&H | 5020 | Delaware & Hudson | Lightning Stripe | ALCO RS36 | Facebook / YouTube – HO Scale Delaware and Hudson Train NE 87 | – | |
| D&H | 7418 | Delaware & Hudson | Green ex Reading | EMD GP39-2 | Model Railroad Planning 2019 / Facebook / YouTube – HO Scale Delaware and Hudson Train NE 87 | ||
| GJ | 4116 | Greenwich and Johnsonville | Orange | ALCO RS3 |
Freight stock is equally faithful. Tangent, Kadee, ExactRail, Moloco, Rapido, Athearn Genesis, and InterMountain all contribute to a roster chosen for accuracy, then weathered one by one until no two cars look alike.
| Reporting Mark | Number | Road/Company | Colour | Prototype | Model | Seen | N Scale |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ADN | Ashley, Drew & Northern | Green | 56′ Thrall All-Door Box Car | Walthers | YouTube – HO Scale Delaware and Hudson Train NE 87 | – | |
| AGR | 5434 | Allagash Railway | Red | ||||
| AGR | 5901 | Allagash Railway | Boxcar Red | YouTube – HO Scale Delaware and Hudson Train NE 87 | |||
| BAR | 6760 | Bangor and Aroostook | Red | ||||
| BCK | 4057 | Buffalo Creek | |||||
| BMS | 372? | Berlin Mills Railway | YouTube – HO Scale Delaware and Hudson Train NE 87 | ||||
| CAGY | ? | Columbus & Greenville | Boxcar | ||||
| CN | 400526 | Canadian National | Red | 50′ Newsprint Car | Proto 1000 | YouTube U23Bs at Cobleskill | True Line Trains |
| CP | 340355 | Canadian Pacific | 52′ 6″ Mill Gondola | ||||
| CP | 340359 | Canadian Pacific | Action Red | 52′ 6″ Mill Gondola | Rapido #50024-5 | YouTube – HO Scale Delaware and Hudson Train NE 87 | |
| CP | 382647 | Canadian Pacific | Black | 3800 Cu. Ft. Cylindrical Covered Hopper | Rapido | Prairie Shadows | |
| CP | 384583 | CP Rail | Black Pacman | InterMountain | |||
| CPI | 85664 | Canadian Pacific | Green | NSC | Atlas? | YouTube U23Bs at Cobleskill | Atlas 50 002 786 |
| CR | 368025 | Conrail | White LV 1979 X58 Restencil | PRR X58 Series Box Car | Tangent 14019-01 | YouTube – Morning on the Mill Job | Eastern Seaboard Models |
| CVC | 402073 | Central Vermont | Red | 50′ Newsprint Car | Proto 1000 30290 | YouTube U23Bs at Cobleskill | True Line Trains |
| CVC | 402353 | Central Vermont | Red with Yellow Dor | 50′ Newsprint Car | Proto 1000 37160 | YouTube U23Bs at Cobleskill | True Line Trains |
| D&H | 9276 | Delaware & Hudson | Black ex Erie Lackawanna Yellow-Rib | 70T 14 Panel 3-Bay Hopper | Bowser | YouTube – HO Scale Delaware and Hudson Train NE 87 | Bluford Shops |
| D&H | 9316 | Delaware & Hudson | Black ex Erie Lackawanna Yellow-Rib | 70T 14 Panel 3-Bay Hopper | Bowser | YouTube – HO Scale Delaware and Hudson Train NE 87 | |
| D&H | 12307 | Delaware & Hudson | Red | PS-2CD 4750 Covered Hopper | Tangent 20011-01 | YouTube – Morning on the Mill Job | Fox Valley |
| D&H | 12803 | Delaware & Hudson | Red | GATC 2600 Airslide Hopper | YouTube U23Bs at Cobleskill | Athearn 23041 | |
| D&H | 19527 | Delaware & Hudson | Black | by John Bezuyen | |||
| D&H | 27217 | Delaware & Hudson | P-S 5344 50′ Box Car | YouTube – HO Scale Delaware and Hudson Train NE 87 | |||
| D&H | 28124 | Delaware & Hudson | Yellow | 50′ RBL Box Car | Moloco 11051-02 | YouTube – Morning on the Mill Job | Atlas 50004458 |
| D&H | 35722 | Delaware & Hudson | Red | Bay Window Caboose | Athearn 74838 | YouTube – Morning on the Mill Job | Athearn 23287 |
| DWC | 403006 | Duluth, Winnipeg & Pacific | Red | NSC Newsprint 50′ Boxcar | Walthers Proto 1000 | ||
| GACX | 43609 | Lantic Sugar | 2600 Cu Ft Airslide Covered Hopper | Con-Cor | YouTube – HO Scale Delaware and Hudson Train NE 87 | Athearn? | |
| NAHX | 92957 | Route Rock | |||||
| NW | 177395 | Norfolk & Western | Gray/Black/Yellow/White | 4750 cu ft Rib Sided 3 Bay Hopper | Intermountain 45358 | Facebook / YouTube – HO Scale Delaware and Hudson Train NE 87 | Intermountain 65358 ★ |
| PC | 221015 | Penn Central | Green | Greenville 7100 Auto Parts Boxcar | ExactRail EP-80305-3 by Lenny Harlos. | ||
| PC | 557220 | Penn Central | Green | 52′ 6″ Drop-End Mill Gondola | Walthers Platinum Line | YouTube – HO Scale Delaware and Hudson Train NE 87 | |
| PC | 884801 | Penn Central | Green | 1972 Repaint Covered Hopper, 3-Bay, GATX 3500 Dry-Flo | Tangent 12023-02 Detailed and weathered by Lenny Harlos | Atlas/BLMA | |
| PC | 898091 | ||||||
| PFRP | 2835 | Richmond Fredericksburg & Potomac | Blue, White Lettering | PS-1 Box Car w/ 6 ft Youngstown Door | Kadee 4320 | YouTube – HO Scale Delaware and Hudson Train NE 87 | Atlas 50003355 |
| SOU | 90210 | Southern | Airslide Covered Hopper | Atlas | |||
| SOU | 140912 | Southern | YouTube – HO Scale Delaware and Hudson Train NE 87 | ||||
| SSW | 87938 | Cotton Belt | 60′ Bulkhead Flat Car | Athearn 87111 | |||
| TLCX | 30062 | Allied Mills Inc. | PS-2CD 4740 Covered Hopper | Tangent 10040-02 | Fox Valley | ||
| TLDX | 2985 | Hopper Light Grey | PS-2CD 4427 3-Bay Covered Hopper | By Southern Tier Modelworks. | |||
| VTR | 385 | Vermont Railway | Green | Model Railroad Planning 2019 | |||
| WP | 1403 | Western Pacific | Center Beam Flat Car | ExactRail EP-81102-3 | MTL 05300062 |
Scenery and Atmosphere
Ground cover follows the “ground goop” approach pioneered by Mike Confalone and Lou Sassi, layered with Silflor tufts, static grasses, natural soils, flowering weeds, and scrap textures. Lighting is no afterthought: LED tubes, spots, and floods are blended to match photo backdrops taken at the real locations, so that every shadow falls where it should.
Structures are scratchbuilt or craftsman kits, many contributed by fellow modellers. Stonework uses New England Brownstone moulds; rock faces are Cripplebush Valley Rubber Rocks, painted to blend seamlessly into the backdrop photography.
Operation
The mainline is single track, point-to-point, with four passing sidings each capable of holding a 20-car train. The Cherry Valley Branch is worked by RS-3s trundling at 10 mph. Staging yards at Mechanicville and Oneonta complete the illusion.
Operations use switch lists for now, with car cards and waybills planned. Road freights make setouts and pickups at Cobleskill, Schoharie Junction, and beyond. Locals switch the Agway elevator, cement plant, freight house, and interchange. Meets are staged carefully at the passing sidings, just as they would have been on the prototype.
Perfectly Imperfect
Ken calls his aesthetic “perfectly imperfect.” Grain elevators show peeling paint and damp stains. Boxcars carry rust streaks and faded lettering. Trackside timbers lean and darken with age.
“I embrace the imperfection in things,” Ken says. “The tired old Agway elevator, the smells of grain and molasses, the lone covered hopper resting quietly on the siding.”
This layout is not about spotless ballast or showroom locomotives. It is about atmosphere, honesty, and the bittersweet beauty of a world already fading when it was first modelled.
Final Thoughts
The Delaware & Hudson Second Subdivision is more than a layout. It is a meditation on place and memory, built from wood, wire, and weathering powders, yet resonating far beyond them.
Here, the year is always 1979. The ALCOs still work. The D&H is still alive. And the story, told in miniature, remains as compelling as the full-size trains it honours.
Sources
- Model Railroad Planning 2019
Epilogue
Every layout tells a story, but the Delaware & Hudson Second Subdivision goes further: it holds on to a moment in time. In its weathered elevators, its slow freights, and the deep voice of its Alcos, the summer of 1979 is always alive.
For those who knew the line, the scenes are familiar — the tired ballast, the mills and branches, the unmistakable presence of the D&H. For those who did not, the model becomes a window: an invitation to imagine the sights, sounds, and atmosphere of a railroad and a region on the cusp of change.
Here the trains still work the valley, the Alcos still thunder on the grades, and the story is still unfolding in miniature.