BACK MOUNTAIN, Pa. — There's a lot more that goes into the layouts at the Back Mountain Railroad Club than what initially meets the eye.
"Our first layout, which is the historical layout, as we call it over there, which is a representation of the Back Mountain area, Dallas, was done in 2017 for the Bicentennial of Dallas Township," explained Ray Mancke, the president of the club.
"I did a lot of work on our historical display," added member George Hrubowchak. "They called me 'The Bush Man.' I made most of the trees there, all the bushes and trees."
The historical display has been years in the making, but elsewhere in the club's jam-packed space is another layout — a smaller one that's been in the works for a little more than a year.
"Primarily by one person, by the name is John Marshall," explained Mancke. "It's an HO-scale layout, and it represents (what) could be anywhere in northeast Pennsylvania. One building that some people may recognize is Frank's Lumber building."
On December 20, this layout will be donated to the Community Living Center at the Wilkes-Barre VA Medical Center in Luzerne County.
"We have a lot of members who are veterans, and one vet, in particular, has stayed in touch with people up at the VA, and he has taken trains up before to them," said Mancke. "There's a lot of interest by a lot of the vets up at the VA center for trains, and we decided that we got this built, and it was like, 'You know what? Let's donate it to them.'"
If you want to get a look at this layout in person, you can attend the Back Mountain Railroad Club's open house on Saturday, December 17, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. More information about the club can be found by clicking here.
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