Overview of the Brandywine & Benedictine Railroad
Norm StenzelDescription
In this video watch an overview of Norm Stenzel’s Brandywine & Benedictine model railroad alongside Allen Keller. The B&B is a freelance railroad documenting the history of the line from its beginnings in 1898 to the mid 1950’s.
The B&B hauls coal in Virginia and West Virginia, on a route made possible by Norm’s careful study of topography. It’s a railroad that could have existed, with attention especially paid to time and place. It’s a perfect blend of operation, scenery, and detail – nothing stands out to detract attention from the trains. Called the Mason Dixon Line, it runs North and South from Winston Salem, North Carolina to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
It’s a mountain railroad with a maximum grade of 2.7%, which means helpers are required out of Salem, Virginia. The double deck layout fills a 30 by 24 foot room. The lower level is L girder construction, while the upper level is cantilevered out from the wall. The minimum radius on the railroad is 30 inches with all visible track being hand laid by Norm.
This is the Brandywine and Benedictine Railroad of Norm Stenzel. Even though it's a freelance road, Norm has documented the history of the line from its beginnings in 1898, up until the present, the mid 1950s. The B&B hauls coal in Virginia and West Virginia on a route made possible by the study of topography. It's a railroad that could have existed. And as such, Norm has paid special attention to time and place. It's a perfect blend of operations, scenery and detailing. Nothing stands out to distract from the trains. Hi, I'm Allen Keller, and this is Norm Stenzel, the builder the Brandywine and Benedictine railroad. Welcome to B&B, Allen. Thanks. We call it the Mason Dixon line. It runs North and South from Winston-Salem, North Carolina to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The B&B is a mountain railroad with a maximum grade of 2.7%. That means helpers are required out of Salem, Virginia. The double deck layout fills a 30 by 24 foot room. The lower level is L girder construction while the upper-level is cantilevered out from the wall. The minimum radius is 30 inches, with all the visible track hand-laid.
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