For nostalgic reasons alone, I wanted to model the Newtown Square and Cardington branches of the Pennsylvania Railroad in the transition period from 1945 to 1955. Notwithstanding the need to selectively compress for the space I have available, a true model of the branch would not satisfy the degree of social interaction I was looking for in a model railroad.

I like operating model railroads with friends. This social aspect of model railroading is very important to me. I find I seldom operate my railroad unless there are several others operating with me. One train a day does not allow for much social interaction on a model railroad. I desired a layout that would keep four or five operators moderately busy for about two hours.

Since the branch is primarily a switching branch, a fast clock is superfluous; an eight hour shift is nearly an eight hour operating session. I needed w a few more trains so that the entire line could be worked more quickly by operating different sections of the branch simultaneously. More trains could involve more friends.

I also wanted some of the accouterments found on typical operating model railroads: classification yards, through trains, engine facilities, and towers. These functions could occupy another operator or two. In reality though, these were found in Philadelphia – I was not about to attempt to model the Philadelphia facilities – I did not want that much railroad or that much operation.  Philadelphia could be relegated to a staging area but then its functions would lose operational interest.