Great article! It shows Kennywood values you HiRailers presence very much!
On Wednesday night (11/30/22), we were at Kennywood for some maintenance work and took a break to conduct this experiment to see if a 137 car ore train (about 80 feet of train! 
) could be reliably pulled around the layout. And while the Lionel Big Boy pulled it like a champ, we are not likely to run this train when open to the public as finding any derailments would be a lot of work (a lot of ground to cover with people moving around the layout).
Andy
Absolutely amazing!!! Thanks for all of the pics and updates.
@Andy Hummell posted:On Wednesday night (11/30/22), we were at Kennywood for some maintenance work and took a break to conduct this experiment to see if a 137 car ore train (about 80 feet of train!
Andy
That looks like enough ore to fire up Carrie in Swissvale again!
@Andy Hummell posted:On Wednesday night (11/30/22), we were at Kennywood for some maintenance work and took a break to conduct this experiment to see if a 137 car ore train (about 80 feet of train!
Andy
Absolutely, Andy! One finds that you have to balance what you want to do (super long consists) by what works and is practical when the public is watching.......we usually run these super long trains when it's a more private session.
Peter
@Putnam Division posted:Absolutely, Andy! One finds that you have to balance what you want to do (super long consists) by what works and is practical when the public is watching.......we usually run these super long trains when it's a more private session.
Peter
Well with four tracks on the mainline, it might be fun to make a show out of it. If there’s a derailment, dispatch the MoW crew from the yard with a crane to help clean it up!
@rplst8 posted:Well with four tracks on the mainline, it might be fun to make a show out of it. If there’s a derailment, dispatch the MoW crew from the yard with a crane to help clean it up!
We actually decided to run a shortened version of this train - only 110 cars (we took out the heavier cars). And the crowd did get one show:
😁
Also, due to the warm weather, we had our largest crowd of the season so far. We use a counter to tally the number of people that come through and report the numbers to Kennywood (we started doing this voluntarily and they really liked it, as it helps them evaluate how they operate).
Andy
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Here is another batch of pix.
The first group features the superheroes (& a villain or two) scattered about the layout. The kids and even a few adults get a kick out of spotting them.
And here are some shots from the roundhouses:
Andy
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Andy, I feel much better knowing there are so many super heroes at Kennywood keeping the bad guys at bay!
The engines at the roundhouse look great!! That is a fantastic show!
And here is another batch of pix:
The "Santa in the Windmill" scene is probably the most popular, based on comments. 
Pittsburgh, being the birthplace of the modern zombie horror genre, also means that our "Zombie Attack" scene is also very popular.
My module is a mashup of Polar Express and National Lampoon's Vacation / Christmas Vacation, with the addition of Rudolph and a lurking Yeti.
Sasquatch and the Dino Dig are popular with kids.
8-9 Minions can also be found on the layout (number depending on if my Polar Express is running), and are a big hit with the kids when they find them.
Andy
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@Andy Hummell posted:Sasquatch and the Dino Dig are popular with kids.
Andy
Careful if @laz1957 see this Big Foot he might try to recruit him to join his squad.
Always good to see the queen but is she on a roof top? Certainly not royal protocol!
@MartyE posted:Always good to see the queen but is she on a roof top? Certainly not royal protocol!
Well, she does want to be seen by all her admirers and subjects, and at least she has a guard...
Andy
Andy, thank you for posting all those great photographs! It could take hours to see everything!!
Here is another batch of photos covering the first back curve and part of the first inside leg:
Andy
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@Andy Hummell, your group's efforts exceed by miles my ability to comprehend what you guys do, even with the wonderful and abundant photographs and information you have provided. (I belong to a club with a traveling layout that is a simple rectangle with four main lines measuring 16' X 44' comprised of 18 modules, so I understand the concept of joining modules. But what you guys do is incomprehensible for me!)
But what transcends all of that is the fact that you set-up and take down the layout in its various configurations fequently to satisfy a busy show schedule. The man hours involved; the weight moved in and out; the challenges; staggering.
Nothing comes close in my memory to what you guys do with your traveling layout.
BRAVO!!!
@MartyE posted:Careful if @laz1957 see this Big Foot he might try to recruit him to join his squad.
Always good to see the queen but is she on a roof top? Certainly not royal protocol!
LOL 😂! Ah yes there HE is!!! We were looking for one more MR BIG FEET!!! He can join us up on SNOB HILL, something is going on up there….😱😉😳
Heading to Kennywood next week when the kids come home. Can’t wait to see it live!
ANDY,
I like what you did with that water scene, looks great along with the whole the rest of the display.👍👍
The dirt road and camping area looks great! So does the water scene
Lots of great scenes to see. I like the underwater module.
Here are a few shots from this weekend.
Looks like a famous admirer stopped by to see the Queen.
This is always a big hit when kids spot this "hobo" riding the Polar Express.
And for a little "Behind the scenes" - we often have to fix things as we go. Here is a little surgery on a broken car.
Andy
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@Andy Hummell posted:Here are a few shots from this weekend.
And for a little "Behind the scenes" - we often have to fix things as we go. Here is a little surgery on a broken car.
Andy
Dave looks like he’s ready to perform surgery. Lol.
Santa's elf is getting impatient.
