Vol. 53: Conrail New Jersey Division
The Conrail New Jersey Division is based on lines discovered and explored when Mat Snell was a young railfan. Discover the look and the gritty feel of the areas around Newark, the Northeast Corridor, the chemical plants and the high speed commuter lines.
In addition to Conrail you’ll see trains from Amtrak, New Jersey Transit and the Susquehanna, all following the Northeast Operating Rules that the railroads of New Jersey use. The layout is controlled by signals and dispatchers and runs with different schedules for day and night.
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1:42When it comes to capturing the gritty industrial areas and action-packed Northeastern rail corridor activity, few model railroad layouts can match the efforts of Matt Snell and Debie Baker. Model Railroad Academy’s Allen Keller visits the duo and learns the Conrail New Jersey division portrayed in HO scale grew out of Matt’s discovery and exploration…
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9:44In Part 2 of his series on the Conrail New Jersey division railroad of Matt Snell and Debie Baker, Allen Keller’s cameras ride along as an inspection train winds its way from Allentown Station all the way to South Amboy. Along the way, the viewer sees the incredible amount of model railroad structures and scenery…
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7:36The Conrail New Jersey Railroad of Matt Snell and Debie Baker operates along prototypical rules as much as possible. Discover some model railroad operation tips as Allen Keller’s cameras follow a mixed freight leaving Oak Island Yard bound for Allentown Station, on a busy journey of set-outs and pick-ups along the way. With dozens of…
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7:26Matt Snell’s earliest interests in northern New Jersey railroading began as a railfan in the early 1980s. When he started his model railroad layout planning, he turned to what he most familiar with – Conrail New Jersey in the 1980s, and modeling the gritty industrial areas of north Jersey. In Part 4, Allen Keller discovers…
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4:18By modeling four different periods over a 20-year stretch, Matt Snell of the Conrail New Jersey Division was faced with challenges in super-detailing his model train engines. He shows Model Railroad Academy’s Allen Keller how he goes about adding model railroad details to his diesel locomotives. First, Matt does extensive research using pictures and slides…
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4:33If you’re looking for one single, easily added detail that can take your layout to the next level of realism – think signage! In the next in his video series on the Conrail New Jersey, Model Railroad Academy’s Allen Keller finds out from builder, Matt Snell, how easy it is to make model railway signs.…
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9:48Conrail New Jersey’s builder/operator, Matt Snell, tells Model Railroad Academy’s Allen Keller that adding sound was a natural outgrowth of observations that his nighttime operations were too quiet. So he added various model railway sounds via modules with speakers spread throughout his basement and his layout came to life! In a step-by-step tutorial, Matt shares…
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8:06When most modelers think about creating a model railway timetable, they incorrectly think that just means creating a schedule by which their trains will run. But as we learn from expert builder/operator, Matt Snell, creating a timetable is so much more than just making a model railroad schedule. Matt attempts, as much as possible, to…
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5:11As part of his research on the Conrail New Jersey Division, expert modeler Matt Snell carefully studies photographs before weathering model trains for his layout. Model railroad weathering usually is more subtle than most modelers apply, so he uses some unconventional materials and techniques which he shows MRA’s Allen Keller in this final episode on…
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