Inspiration Behind the M&K Division of the B&O

It was not hard for Don Cassler and his club to find inspiration for their model railroad. They based their model railroad on the M&K Division of the B&O in West Virginia. Don explains how everybody that worked on the layout was captivated by that area of the country as well as that kind of railroad operation. Although they were not able to design the layout as an exact model of the real B&O because the area is 50 miles long, they were still able to capture the essence of the west end.

The layout still takes up most of Don’s basement and it takes about 25 minutes for a train to complete the entire transit of the layout. The west end is a division of the B&O that they modeled. The M&K stands for Morgantown and Kingwood and is a little independent railroad that goes through the middle of the west end division and was eventually purchased by the B&O. Don talks about difficulties in creating the layout, materials used for the scenery, and other aspects of planning the layout. If you need inspiration for your layout, look no further! All the inspiration you need is throughout the layout of the B&O created by Don Cassler and his fellow model railroaders.