The Piermont Divison of the Western Maryland is Howard Zane's beautifully scenicked and detailed model of a West Virginia coal hauler. This layout, a window into the past, evokes fond memories of a different time in America. You'll enjoy railfanning this layout set in 1955, and recalling or learning about that era.

Howard is one of the partners in the Great Scale Train Shows, and he knows this hobby..from brass collecting to scratchbuilding. His skills as an industrial/architectural designer let him build a super-detailed city or landscape a gorgeous rural scene from a plan that's never put on paper.

This free form approach to the hobby has resulted in a railroad that is 3-D art. Structures, signals, and trees are selected and placed for color and aesthetic enhancement.

Howard loves to share the hobby. He and his friends will show you techniques for building spline roadbed, maintaining locomotives, and painting a scene with ground cover. You'll also get a close-up explanation of the incredible amount of detail on this layout.

 

This Great Model Railroad is one of the hobby's landmark artistic achievements.

It is one of the few layouts with such close attention to period detail.