The Muskingum Valley Central and the Hamm River Timber Co. are located in the southeastern region of Ohio. The MVC began its life when some local business men purchased the abandoned right of way of the former OR&W from the Pennsylvania RR in 1934 with the hope of reviving the line.

They also managed to acquire some of the OR&W equipment. Much to their disappointment, the majority of the equipment was of little use. They did manage to find a dozen or so cars that were able to be used immediately. These can still be found roaming the rails of the MVC.

The Hamm River Timber Co. is a small lumbering railroad that consists of a 0-4-2 Porter, a Shay, a Climax and a 2-6-0 Mogul. The HRTC has 22 miles of poorly laid track that wanders through the woods of southern Ohio.

Most of the timber taken is rough sawn on location by portable mills and is taken to the MVC main line for transport to outside mills for final finishing. The HRTC supplies scant wood to fire the MVC motive power and, in return, they get trackage rights for two trains a day and share some engine facilities.

They each maintain their own engine houses and machine shops. The MVC hauls a variety of goods in and out for the local communities including oil, farm equipment, bricks, timber, dry goods, livestock and coal.

They have also acquired some mineral rights in Muskingum and Noble counties and have plans to open up a new mine by September of 1935.

 The reality, this railroad is in my basement in Canal Winchester, Ohio. The narrow gauge On30 came about by the marrying of three things. First, I loved narrow gauge since I was introduced to the Gorre & Daphited in the December 1978 MR. Being ten years old, I did not have the finances or the expertise to persuade my parents to purchase HOn3 brass or boxes of sticks to make freight cars. So I created a freelanced railroad called the Muskingum Valley Central. A standard gauge railroad "Serving Southeast Ohio" in the 1950's. Second, Bachmann introduced their On30 sets. These were so tempting I had to buy one. Third, I found out about the OR&W through some friends at the Zanesville Model RR Club. I found out about the book "Hidden Treasures" by Ed Cass and quickly purchased one. After some research I found that many of the Bachmann cars were replicas of the OR&W cars. Putting the three together made perfect sense. My former MVC was back dated from 1950 to 1937 and went from standard gauge to narrow gauge. I was still freelancing but basing my operations on the OR&W.

The layout itself is built on an open grid of 1" x 4" 's in modular sections. The track is hand laid on homemade ties that are stained with a variety of stains and India

ink. The sub-bed is 1/2" Homasote and 1/2" plywood. All of the structures are built on small pieces of 3/4 finish plywood so they can be removed if need be. Most of the structures are scratch built with a few hydrocal and resin kits. Right now, four of the seven have interior detailing and lighting. Some also have sounds provided by Miller Models. I plan on detailing all of the interiors eventually. The layout will have 20-25 structures when complete.

The scenery is a styrofoam base with a coating of Sculptamold or Hydrocal followed by the usual Woodland Scenic's ground cover. The trees are a variety of rope and wire pine trees and various weeds for the deciduous trees. The waterfalls and creek were done by Terry Hansley with silicone, acrylic paint and Matte Gloss. The lighting is done with full spectrum daylight bulbs spaced every 20"-24" apart and hidden by a 11" valance. The layout is operated with a Digitrax Super Chief system and most decoders are Digitrax or Soundtraxx.

The MVC and HRTC have become a great source of pleasure. I have received help from other modelers nearby and my family. My wife has made many trees and helps with scenery and planning. My daughters love to operate the trains and blow the whistle. They also love to help Daddy clean the train room. My youngest and only boy is 2 1/2 and already knows what buttons to push for the sounds and lights.

 If you would like to visit the layout, we will be hosting an open house on April 10, 2005 from 11:30 till 4:30. This is the day after the Greenford, Ohio NG meet. Hope to see you here.

Michael Yoakam