A model railroad used for commercial purposes

• Absolutely terrific The work of truly professional museum quality model builders

I notice their promotional video they are clever about how long the train is in the shot so you can't get too many details.   It must be an impressive layout, but I sense some special effects trickery there as well, they have black smoke from the stacks.

Thank for sharing this. Quite a layout. I wonder how often it is used?

Jim K

I wonder if that is the layout which was frequently shown in articles of Garden Railways magazine written by Jack Verducci. He did a lot of structures for a 1:32 layout based on the DL&W.

Thank You for sharing very impresssive!

Thanks for sharing! Obviously they use special effects, the 'living' people (some of whom were dressed modern *lol*..I don't think young women were dressing in spaghetti strap tops in 1952). Loved the flocks of birds.

The Hoboken terminal sections were stunning, I was amazed how realistic it looks! A lot of fun in it, and the DC3 flying scene was pretty incredible too.

One notable mistake, they showed the Maxwell House facilities next to the outgoing tracks. Maxwell house was in northeast Hoboken at the other end from where the trains terminated.

Overall pretty incredible. Was disappointed they didn't show the MU's, had a lot of fond memories of them.

Awesome, indeed.  Even the special effects. 

Question...  Are you indicating that all of the trains...engines, freight cars, passenger cars...are 1:32 in scale, too?!?!?!

If so, Lawdy, lawdy!!...Who are the builders?!  Everything about the layout...structures,scenery, track work, background/sky, feathered friends in flight, the commercial 'gooney bird' (DC-3), etc...are magnificent.  But if those trains are 1:32 with that much finesse I might be slack-jawed for a few days!!

Can't say I recall seeing any commercials, though, that feature scenes/action from this layout.  Clue?  Hints?

KD

Everything is 1:32. They use a little CGI now and then, as pointed out, for the smoke, birds, movement of people, etc.  They picked 1:32 because that scale is big enough to allow lots of detail, yet small enough to be handled easily and allow the use of the space available. There's a lot of commercially available stuff in that scale, apparently. I'm not sure what rolling stock is off-the-shelf vs scratch-built.

If you look at the page labeled "TEAM" you can see the folks who work on it.  Then click on the thumbnails and you can see the size and scope of the layout while it was being assembled.

I am not aware of a particular film or video that employed the layout, sorry. I was shown some trial footage, but they didn't divulge what it was going to be used for.  The whole thing is a compromise, of course, but it seems to work.

These are some of my favorites: Lackawanna Railroad Model Land

Just got this link from the local model rr club. It sounds like the same railroad described here. An exhibit at the NJ Liberty Science Center described as "The Great Train Set: NJ's Classic Lackawana Railroad Rides Again". Its in 1:32 and opens in August. The Great Train Set

and another video Lackawana Land

Looks like the one at the Liberty Science Center. I spent over an hour looking at it today. It's been substantially altered to fit its new role as a museum exhibit. So it doesn't have a lot of operations. There are four trains, each on its own dedicated loop, running continuously. The Hoboken terminal is no longer connected to the rest of the layout. There are fewer animations, and the trucks and cars no longer move along the roads.

But the buildings are exquisite, with fully detailed and lighted interiors. The Hoboken terminal is magnificent. The three passenger trains have fully detailed and lighted interiors.  And the trains are BIG.

Actual scenes along the Lackawanna are replicated, including a popular lakeside resort. Informational panels explain the scenes and some railroad basics. A couple of movies talk about the man who commissioned the layout in his basement and then donated it to LSC. And some examples of his non-Lackawanna  collection are displayed (20th Century Limited, Broadway Limited, etc.)

And as a previous poster remarked, the structures were indeed built by Jack Verducci.

I think it's well worth a visit.

Thank you for sharing, I really enjoyed that!

Here's the link to the Liberty Science Center with hours and etc. Includes an amazing photo of the inside of Lackawana Hoboken Terminal.

Liberty Science Center