The West Virginia Northern Railroad
The HObo Model Railroad Club features a 700 square foot HO scale display that depicts the West Virginia Northern Railroad, a fictional line running from Connellsville, Pennsylvania, to Charleston, West Virginia. The layout depicts the northern division of the WVN, from Connellsville to Clarksburg, West Virginia.
Although the WVN never actually existed, the club has several area landmarks on the layout, including the former B&O Railroad Station and P&WV viaduct in Connellsville. Additionally, all of the town names on the railroad depict real locations that the railroad, if real, would have run through.
The WVN serves as a bridge route between the Baltimore & Ohio (B&O) and Pittsburgh & Lake Erie (P&LE) railroads in the north and the Chesapeake & Ohio (C&O) railroad to the south. The railroad is set in the late-transition era, but club members have a variety of interests, from modern inter-modal trains to logging railroads.
The HObo Model Railroad Club
The Club was founded in 1953 by a group of area model railroaders including Connellsville businessman H.E. "Doc" Wills and Uniontown Hobby Center owner N.M. "Pop" Darr, For several years, the Club operated in a “round-robin” manner, meeting at various members’ homes or at Pop Darr’s hobby shop. The club eventually found a home with long-time member Lloyd “Jimmy” Roseck, who hosted the club’s layout for several years at his home on Route 119 near the Connellsville Airport.
After the death of “Jimmy” Roseck, the Club moved into it’s current home in the Connellsville Community Center. The original layout was disassembled several years ago, and the current layout has been in place for over a decade.
Model Railroading is Fun...
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