Overview of Jerry Macri’s Pennsylvania Railroad

Jerry Macri’s Pennsylvania railroad may be the largest home layout ever built. This video covers an overview of the layout with Allen Keller. The layout began in Jerry’s 2,800 square foot basement and was added onto 9 years later to the 4,300 square feet it is now. It takes a train about 25 minutes to run from one end of the layout to the other.

Everything is huge on this HO layout including the famous Horseshoe Curve at 30 by 12 feet and the massive Erie Ironworks at about 40 feet long. The railroad is only 50% complete because Jerry is in no hurry to finish it, he enjoys it too much. With a layout this big, the towns are far enough apart so a train is never in two towns at once. Along the route, trains travel through scenes that are up to 5 feet deep.

The layout covers three rooms that span 40 by 70, 17 by 30, and 12 by 90 feet. The layout is built on 2 by 4s with 3 ¼ inch plywood and a minimum radius of 36 inches. It runs from Chicago Staging to New York Staging. Allen Keller asks Jerry why he decided to model the Pennsylvania. Jerry went to the Horseshoe Curve with his wife on vacation, and fell in love with it. The tour starts in Ironton. For more Allen Keller videos, visit the Model Railroad Academy archives.