Howard Zane's Piermont Division runs through the coal mine country of the Appalachians in the 1950s. This is our third visit to this layout. We did Vol. 12 in 1992 and Vol. 44 in 2003. Since then Howard has completely scenicked the second addition and redone the original HO layout he started in 1983. Even though the layout has been a work in progress for 25 years, the old and the new blend flawlessly because of Howard's formal artistic training. In this video we concentrate on the new work.

The Piermont is one of the hobby's important artistic achievements. Howard does little planning, he simply creates stunning scenes and structures. If he has a plan, it's open to change as he works. Yet he is highly organized and disciplined as he works to express his artistry.

The 2850 square foot HO layout is all about fantasy and unlimited imagination. The trackplan is really a double deck style built on one deck at different levels. This makes the run 22 scale miles long so it takes a train about one hour to run the full length.