Intro

The sound of a mighty steamer rolling through the Appalachians, with it's large puffs of smoke and it's screaming whistle. Maybe it's the rumbling sound of a new diesel that you see every morning on your way to work. Whatever it is it has stirred a passion in so many of us over the years as adults and as children, has turned into a great hobby.

So why call it Model Railroading 3.0? Well for a few reasons, I just turned 30, and because the hobby has come such a long way with technology. Models are more and more real. With better details and realistic sounds. There are more products to chose from now than ever. They are easier to get now than ever. If your local hobby store doesn't have it and it does exist, you'll find it on the internet.

This blog will be mostly about my own personal railroad, The Montour Branch. The time will be set to 1946 when the Pennsylvania Railroad took over the line. Why? Well because about 90% of my motive power, which will all be steam, is lettered and modeled for the Pennsylvania. The model railroads main source of income will come from moving coal from mines to a prep plant, then on to it's consumers. So I'll hope that you will follow along during the construction and continue reading whenever the goal of realistic operation takes place.