
Overview of the M&K Division of the B&O
Don CasslerDescription
Don Cassler's M&K division of the B&O railroad is the work of an informal club, yet all work is done under Don's guidance. The club members use the layout as a canvas for their memories of favorite train watching locales. Thus, the M&K is a rail fan's railroad with trains operating in a prototypical environment. The railroad is based on the Baltimore & Ohio in West Virginia, where mountain grades are common. This means helpers with long trains of 50 cars.
To accommodate such massive consists, the layout has a minimum radius of 48 inches and a maximum radius of an unbelievable 50 feet. Hi, I'm Alan Keller. This is Don Cassler. Welcome to the M&K, Allen. Well, thanks, Don.
I don't think I've ever seen a 50 foot radius curve. Well, you're standing right in front of one. If you want to build one, I put some tables in "Railroad Model Craftsman" several years ago that will tell you how to build a 50 foot curve. Really, it's almost straight track. It just makes the railroad look better.
The M&K division of the B&O is an island style layout that occupies a 45 foot by 27 foot portion of Don's basement. Most of the track is hand-laid, and the turnouts are built to fit the location. All curves are superelevated. Don and his friends began work on the layout 20 years ago. Today, there would be no layout without this group of congenial model railroaders.
Our tour of the layout begins at MK Junction. This is the classification yard for the entire railroad. Since this is a bridge line, most of the traffic is run through, with empties westbound and loads eastbound.
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