George's Visit to the Lehigh and Keystone Valley Model Railroad Club

During my trip to the Northeast earlier this month, I visited with Chris of RLS Trains, which is housed in the Lehigh and Keystone Valley (L&KV) Model Railroad Museum in Bethlehem, PA. The museum features a 5,000 sq. foot double-decked layout that duplicates the paths of the Lehigh Valley and Reading Railroads from West Portal, NJ, through the Lehigh Valley to Reading, PA.

One of the members, Lou, was kind enough to spend a few moments to show me around this amazing layout, which has over 7,000 feet of track. The scenery on the layout is about 80% complete with many scratchbuilt bridges and well-detailed buildings modeled from photos of actual structures around the Lehigh Valley area. The Allentown Yard alone is a sight to see with two fully operational hump yards!

The railroad club was formed in 1994 and started this layout in 1996. They converted it to DCC in 2005. The railroad was also featured in the September 2013 issue of Model Railroader Magazine.

If you are in the Bethlehem or Allentown, PA area, or looking for a layout to visit a short drive from Philadelphia, be sure to see the L&KV. You will not be disappointed!

For more information, visit www.lkvmodelrailroad.com or call (610) 868-7101. Also be sure to check out the L&KV YouTube channel to see the railroads in action. For even more photos of their amazing work and updates, go to the L&KV Model Railroad Museum's Facebook page.

They are open to the public on the third Sunday of every month from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Tickets are $7 for adults and free for children 12 and younger.

Lehighton engine servicing area

Bethlehem Steel Coke Works at Saucon Yard

Downtown Quakertown along the Reading Bethlehem Branch

Ludlowville Power Plant

Reading Line in Harrisburg, PA

West Lehighton

Upcoming SoundTraxx Clinics in Wisconsin

Fall is in the air, which means Trainfest is just around the corner!

While they're in Wisconsin, George and Jarrette will present several free in-store clinics, as well as a clinics at Trainfest. If you're in the area, we hope you can attend and learn how Tsunami Digital Sound Decoders can change the way you run your railroad.

Free In-Store Clinics:
Braking, Switching and Running -- Railroading With Tsunami Decoders

EngineHouse Services 
Green Bay, WI
6:30 p.m., Tuesday, November 4, 2014

South Side Trains
Milwaukee, WI
3 p.m., Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Greenfield News & Hobby
Greenfield, WI
6 p.m., Thursday, November 6, 2014

Clinic Description
From auto-synchronizing exhaust to full train line braking, learn how SoundTraxx Tsunami Digital Sound Decoders can enhance how you run your railroad. At our free in-store clinics, SoundTraxx rep George Bogatiuk will use prototypical scenarios to demonstrate the many features built into Tsunami decoders for locomotives and rolling stock. He will also showcase the new Tsunami SoundCar and its new Intelligent Consisting feature, which makes consisting a breeze with the wave of a magnet. Be sure to bring your DCC questions!

Trainfest Clinic:
Realistic Train Operation with SoundTraxx Tsunami Decoders

Expo Center Upstairs Classroom 3
1 p.m., Saturday, November 8, 2014
Pre-register

Expo Center Upstairs Classroom 3
10 a.m., Sunday, November 9, 2014
Pre-register

Clinic Description
From auto-synchronizing exhaust to full train line braking, learn how SoundTraxx Tsunami Digital Sound Decoders can enhance the prototypical operation of your railroad. SoundTraxx rep Jarrette Ireland will demonstrate the many features built into Tsunami decoders for locomotives and rolling stock, and explain how to implement them for more realism when running your trains. He will also discuss Intelligent Consisting, a new feature available in the Tsunami SoundCar decoder that makes it easy to add and remove cars in consists without CV programming.