Former Layout by Frank Titman (d)

Layout Name:

"Spiral Hill Railroad"

Layout Status:

dismantled

Track Type:

Layout Space:

19' x 20'

Layout Style:

Around-the-room

Track Manufacturer:

flextrack, handlaid turnouts

Rail Size:

code 100

Min. Turnout Frog:

Min. Radius:

30"

Ruling Grade:

2.5%

Track Height(s):

36"

Era:

1950s

Setting:

Pennsylvania foothills

Railroad(s) Modeled:

freelance, Reading

Featured In:

NASG Dispatch, Aug 2012, pg 2

S Gaugian, Mar 2009, pg 22-23

Great Model Railroads 2000, pg 74

3/16 "S"cale Railroading, Feb 1992, pg 26

Model Railroader, Jan 2001, pg 99 (full-page photo)

Notes:

Frank was the editor of the S Gauge Herald, ran Lehigh Valley Models, and won the NASG's Bernie Thomas award. This was Frank's third layout. The GMR article includes a sidebar on his operating coal tipple mechanism. Only steam was ever run on the Spiral Hill; diesels were never allowed. The photos are laid out in order, following the diagram. The "tour" starts from the center, bottom of the diagram, around the room, with the in-the-middle-of-the-room center section, last. The photos accredited to Michael McConnell were taken in 2002, and the ones that Bill Lane took were taken in 2008.

Other Links:

Photos Taken in 2002

Videos:

Bill Lane's Tribute to Frank

Taken and composed in 2002, this panoramic view of Frank's layout shows only the main portion of the layout. The best way to orient yourself is to imagine you are standing in the lift-out section near the upper-left corner of the diagram, viewing toward the diagonally-opposite corner.

We start the tour off at the Heine's Pickles and Mack Mfg facilities.

A track-level view of the Heine's Pickles building.

The Baby Bear company.

As we move farther down the road, we find a home and a barn, on our way to Mertz Meats.

This photo shows a nice overview of the entire corner.

Here's a track-level view of the corner around Mertz Meats. The icing platform of the Bud Ice Company is visible in the background.

Here's a different view of the Mertz Meats and the Bud Ice buildings facilities.

Across from them is the Mack Mfg Co. facility. Frank worked for Mack, so naturally he had to model that.

It had its own powerhouse.

When we leave the lower-left corner of the layout, across a lift-out section, this is the view of the four tracks that are shown in the upper-left corner in the diagram. There are four tracks here. There is one hidden under the upper level, one showing the parked passenger cars, then there is the main line, and a box car is parked on the fourth track. A fifth track farther to the right (not shown) is a spur.

This photo shows the scene above the hidden track on the left.

We will now take a closer look at the upper level, as shown in the top-left corner of the diagram, which features a busy downtown setting. All of the buildings on the left side of town are only 1/4" deep front walls, the roofs and other details are painted on the wall! Note the forced perspective; the details in the foreground are 1:64, while in the corner, the vehicles and people are 1:87.

This photo clearly shows Frank's artistic abilities. If you look closely, you will see that the gray, three-story building on the left is just a facade; maybe 1/4" thick. Then, as you follow the photo farther to the left, you will notice that the street-corner scene is actually just a 3D-perspective drawing on the backdrop!

Here's another example. Look closely at the buildings on the far right edge of the photo.

The zoo's van had a little altercation with another vehicle and the rear doors sprung open. Now the monkeys are loose. One has tracked cement dust from the nearby construction site up the side of the building. On the right side of the image, a monkey has grabbed a sunbathing girl's bathing suit top and they're both running down the sidewalk (see the next photo for a better view of that). Dave Heine "inherited" this scene after Frank's passing.

Frank's street scenes were highly detailed, with lots of mini-scenes.

The church that dominates the city is a replica of the church that Frank attended. Frank built it from pictures he took.

This is a nice overview shot of the entire upper level in the top-left corner.

We have turned the corner and we now move into the engine yard area. This view is looking back at the left side of the layout. It was taken from about left of where the diagram shows "Hillside Junction", back toward the barge scene in the center of the room.

The two-stall enginehouse is called "Spiral Hill Locomotive Works". As with most structures on Frank's layout, this was a kit he sold via his company LeHigh Valley Models. Hillside Junction is in the background, and the turntable is on the far left.

The yard housed Frank's maintenance-of-way equipment.

The background of the engine yard is Hillside Junction, which is shown in this photo. Most of it is painted on the backdrop, but a few 3D models are included where space allowed. Note the detailed back yards of the homes.

The right-hand side of Hillside Junction.

The water tower clearly indicates the name of the railroad. Hillside Junction is visible in the background. The Black Diamond mine is barely visible in the dark background, but you can make out the main control panel easily.

A nice close-up view of the turntable itself.

A ground-level view of the turntable.

Frank mans the controls on the Spiral Hill, inching a coal drag on the spiral the layout is named after. The Black Diamond mine is in the background.

A close-up view of Frank's main control panel. We have to wonder which beer was Frank's favorite? A big sign on "Titman's Tavern".

We start our visit to the upper level above Spiral Hill. This is a close-up of the Black Diamond mine, which is the end of the branch line off of the yard that is to the right of Spiral Hill.

Note the forced perspective by using HO-scale details in the background.

A couple of photos of Spiral Hill itself.

The track disappearing behind the water tower goes to the Black Diamond mine branch. It also serves as a turning wye for the yard on the right-hand side, which is where the other tracks go to.

This view shows the scene at the wye.

This is the right-hand side of the scene in the wye.

This is a nice overview shot of the entire (in the diagram) lower-right side of the layout. It features many industries, and a heavy-duty crane.

The large transfer crane in the yard.

The scene in the middle of this industrial area.

The end of the line here features the "Red Dot" mine.

The coal distributor's siding.

Three views of the "Red Dot" mine, which is shown in the diagram in the lower, right-hand corner, to the right of the yard.

We now move to the center-of-the-room portion of the layout. We start on the right-hand (in the diagram) side. This view was taken from inside the opening just above the "Continental Can Company" building, looking across the layout's center section toward the Red Dot Mine section in the back. The water tower in this photo can be used as the anchor point to orient yourself in the next two photos.

This shows the exit of Spiral Hill on the right-hand side of the layout. The tracks immediately fan out to become the holding yards for the barge scene.

Frank owned Lehigh Valley Models, and many of the prototypes for his kits could be found on the Spiral Hill layout. The photo was taken in February 2006.

This is a good overview shot of the center section of the layout. You can see the control panel in the background. The large coaling tower is clearly visible, and you can make out the barge scene on the right.

A track-level view of the dominant coaling tower. Frank operated his layout, so you can see the uncoupling magnets installed in this yard.

A view of the coaling tower from the other side.

We now jump across to the other side to get a close look at the harbor/barge scene.

Those are some brave souls to be inner-tubing near all of this heavy-duty boating activity!

Frank used the barges as a means of interchanging traffic onto and off of his layout. The shelves below the barge area was where other barges with cars were stored.

These are the storage shelves under the barge scene where Frank stored his interchanges. There were several of these.

Taken in 2008, Frank posing in front of his layout.