WNB

1 Home

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Upcoming Meetings

Meetings are at 7 o'clock at Hull's Landing on the first Thursday of the month.

4 Alex Landesco Layout History

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The photos on this website are part of a story of model railroad history. These photos show the 10' x 56' HO scale PRR layout-in-a-trailer, built in the 1960's by the late Alex Landesco. This layout is currently being restored by the Williamsport & North Branch Railroad Historical Society. The layout is located in Hughesville, Pennsylvania. The public can see it in operation on selected occasions.

Alex Landesco worked in Defense Contracting with with RCA. Alex had built a previous permanent layout, which he later had to tear down when his job required that he move. He decided to build his second layout in a trailer, so that the layout could move with him.

This unique layout has been featured several times during the Sixties in Railroad Model Craftsman magazine. After his death in early 1980's, the trailer sat unused, in Toms River, NJ for fourteen years. Our Treasurer, Ron Gardener, found a notice of the layout's availability on the internet. Through the generousity of Alex's heirs, the Williamsport & North Branch Historical Society acquired this trailer layout, and moved it in May 1996 to the Lycoming County Fairgrounds in Hughesville, Pennsylvania.

The layout features several of the original scratch built structures, including the freelanced Altoona Station shown at left. In July of 1997, our Treasurer met Alex Landesco Jr. for the first time. Alex Jr., with extreme generosity, donated for display several additional pieces of his fathers layout, including several brass items, cars, and a scratch-built fully detailed maintenance shop. This layout has been open to the public on numerous occasions since its acquisition in May 1996.

3 Mission Statement

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The Williamsport & North Branch Railroad Historical Society (WNBRRHS or WNB for short) is a small group of dedicated members, committed to preserving items of railroad history, and advancing the science of model railroading of all scales,within Lycoming County.Current projects include the following:
Restoration, preservation, and operation of the historic Alex Landesco HO Pennsylvania Model RR
Restoration of the Weigh Station used in Hughesville by the Williamsport & North Branch RR
Operation of the Society's HO modules at selected shows.Future Project: Construction of a model of the Williamsport & North Branch railroad from Halls Station to Sattersfield, when space for a layout is obtained.Scales: The weight station is full scale. The Landesco layout and modules are HO scale. Some members also operate or collect G, N, O, and S scales.

2 Contacts

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1. Club Contacts

President -- Ken Heister
Vice President -- Larry Schmol
Secretary/Treasurer -- Ron Gardner, 570-584-2066, Picture Rocks PA
Webmaster -- Roy Kunst, 570-547-6063, Elimsport, PA
Steve Kepner, 570-584-4117, Hughesville PA

2. Mailing Address

WNBRRHS
P.O. Box 392Picture Rocks, Pa 17762-0392 (570) 584-2066 (Ron Gardner, Treasurer)
Internet Address: www.wnbrrhs.blogspot.com