Trip Report

Waynesboro Model Railroad Club Open House - 12/20/2025 /  by Todd Henson

On December 20, 2025, my father and I were fortune to visit the open house put on by the Waynesboro Model Railroad Club located on Waynecastle Road in Greencastle, Pennsylvania. I was extremely impressed by the scope and detail of their layouts. In fact, we felt a bit overwhelmed and I often didn’t know what to look at or what to photograph. Looking back I wish I’d tried more perspectives and different angles, different shutter speeds and apertures, but that’s always the way of things.

The home of the Waynesboro Model Railroad Club

The club building has two floors, with the HO-scale layout filling a large room on the main floor. On the second floor was the N-scale layout in one room and two O-scale layouts in the second room, one 2-rail O-scale and one 3-rail O-scale. If you’re not familiar with model railroading then some of that description may not mean much. The different scales represent the sizes of the model trains and layouts as compared to reality. N-scale, the smallest of these layouts, is 160 times smaller than the real thing, so 1:160. HO-scale is 87 times smaller than the real thing, so 1:87. And O-scale, the largest of these layouts, is 48 times smaller than the real thing, so 1:48. Power is provided to the model trains over the rails they run on, ie, the railroad tracks. A 3-rail system means there are 3 rails, the 2 the train sits on and a third in the middle. This is how model railroading started. But these days most systems use 2 rails.

HO-Scale Layout

Their HO-scale layout is spread out over a large room with several sections all connected and weaving along the walls and around beams. There are some raised platforms you can step onto to see the layout from a higher perspective. I love how the seasons change as you move along the layout with scenery reflecting the season.

N-Scale Layout

The N-scale is the smallest of the scales in these layouts, which means you can fit more in a smaller space. The layout fills one room of the second floor. It was actively being worked by club members when we visited.

O-Scale Layouts

The 2-rail and 3-rail O-scale layouts fill the second upstairs room. These are the largest of the scales in the layouts so they take up more space. The 3-rail layout was on an island in the center of the room and the 2-rail layout wrapped around the walls.

O-Scale 2-Rail Layout

O-Scale 3-Rail Layout

All of these layouts were impressive with incredible amounts of detail. I saw a group of mountain climbers on a rock face, Bigfoot walking across the top of a mountain, tunnels and bridges, skiers on slopes, a cemetery, emergency personnel responding to a crash, a house being built… the details just went on and on. But these sorts of layouts are almost always being worked so if you visit during one of their future open houses it’s possible you may see something different from what we saw. And I do encourage you to visit them if you’re ever in the area when they are holding an open house. Or if you live in another area then search for any model railroad clubs in your area and see if they have open houses when they invite the public to view their displays and see what their hobby is all about. And please consider leaving them a donation on your way out so they can continue to fund these incredible model railroad layouts.

Click here to learn more about the Waynesboro Model Railroad Club. You can find their current open house schedule and information about the club and how to become a member.

Thanks very much to the members of the Waynesboro Model Railroad Club for opening their doors to the public during these open houses and sharing a little of their hobby with us. We were very impressed with the obvious passion they put into creating each of these layouts.

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First Trip to Seneca Rocks, West Virginia /  by Todd Henson

Seneca Rocks Discovery Center during autumn

A well-known and popular destination in West Virginia is Seneca Rocks, a large rocky crag in the Appalachian Mountains. It’s popular both for tourists coming to view these incredible mountains and hike the trails, and for rock climbers who crave a challenge. In fact, the 10th Mountain Division of the U.S. Army trained here in 1943 - 1944 before deploying to Europe during World War II.

A 10-image panoramic view of the famous Seneca Rocks in autumn

Some of the fall foliage at Seneca Rocks, West Virginia

The rock formations, the creek, and the local community were named after the Native American Seneca nations, thought to have travelled through this area, along with other nations, for trade and war, though they actually resided further north in the New York region.

Bell Wall just left of center, Gunsight, the gap in the center, and South Summit on the right (a very technical formation) at Seneca Rocks

South Summit at Seneca Rocks, West Virginia, is a very technical climb

We were fortunate to visit during autumn when there was some nice color to the leaves. The lighting was a challenge, photographically, as we arrived very near high noon on a cloudless day. This time of year it appears the run rises somewhat behind the rock formations so they were in some degree of shadow during our visit. I’m guessing arriving later in the afternoon might allow you see the rock faces lit up. I’d love to return on a day with a few more clouds, maybe a bit of a stormy look, though I’ve no desire to drive some of the roads we did during a storm.

The Seneca Rocks Discovery Center, in West Virginia, was closed during the government shutdown

Another unique aspect to our visit is that the Discovery Center was closed due to the government shutdown. Thankfully, the Forest Service kept the area open to visitors and just closed the facilities. And the area was very busy with almost full parking lots. Many people were hiking the trails or walking along the paved paths. And there were many people on the faces of the cliffs and rock formations.

Turn around and face away from the rock formations and you’ll see some stores, a motel and a restaurant, all of which were packed

Rock Climbers and/or Hikers

If you click on the photos to get a larger view you may be able to spot some of the many rock climbers all over the formations. Below I’ve created some photos where I circle the groups of climbers and/or hikers in red so you can see just how popular this location is for climbing, some of it very technical, especially that of the south summit.

I circled in red all the climbers/hikers I could find at Seneca Rocks. Some of the circles contain multiple people.

South Summit, one of the more technical features, attracts many climbers. I’ve circled all I could find in red.

See how many climbers and hikers were on the rock formations at Seneca Rocks?

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A Visit to Lancaster, New Hampshire /  by Todd Henson

Main Street, Lancaster, New Hampshire

In June of 2025 my father and I spent some time back in Lancaster, New Hampshire. He grew up there and I recall visiting many times throughout my youth, so it’s always interesting to return to the town and see how much it continues to change over the years. And though it is very different from what it once was, it still retains much of the look and feel I recall from younger days. Originally chartered in 1763, it appears to be thriving today and successfully adapting to the times.

Main Street

Crossing the Israel River in Lancaster, New Hampshire

Both photos above are of Main Street, Lancaster. The first is a wide view facing the bridge over the Israel River. The yellow building on the left is now home to The Yellow Deli, a new location to us and one with fantastic sandwiches (I had the best salmon sandwich I’d ever tried there).

Continuing down the left side beyond the nearest side street is the old bank building (Lancaster National Bank) with the vertical “Lancaster” sign that now houses the Copper Pig Brewery, the W. M. Rugh Gallery and possibly more. Just beyond that, over the Israel River bridge is the Masonic Lodge. The yellow building on the right side used to have a great candy store downstairs, S.N. Evans, though it’s now vacant, and my father’s family lived just upstairs. I have lots of great memories in that building heading down to the candy store.

The second photo is facing the opposite direction from atop the Israel River bridge. You can see the old bank building with the brewery on the right side, and my father’s house the second building on the left. The town has managed to retain the classic “old town” feel even as old businesses close down and new ones move in.

Mechanic Street Covered Bridge

Historic Mechanic Street Covered Bridge

If you drive past the old bank building, over the Israel River bridge, and turn left on Mechanic Street, you can see Lancaster’s beautiful red Historic Mechanic Street Covered Bridge, which also crosses over the Israel River. It originally dates back to 1862 and is the last remaining of three covered bridges that once spanned the Israel. It’s interesting to note that as beautiful and iconic as it is today it was apparently a lesser bridge than the grander Main Street/Double Barrel Bridge also constructed in 1862. But being the last one standing it’s now much more appreciated.

Rialto Theatre

The Rialto Theatre

Returning to Main Street, and heading further into town you’ll find the Rialto Theatre, just visible in the first photo on the far right hand side. For the photo of the theatre I chose to give it that older monochromatic feel to go along with its age. The building it resides in was constructed in 1930 by Homer Graves and the Rialto Theatre opened its doors the next year. It’s fantastic to see it still in business and showing movies on Main Street.

William D. Weeks Memorial Library

The William D. Weeks Memorial Library

The Lancaster Public Library dates back to 1884, but it wasn’t until 1906 when John Wingate Weeks began construction of the beautiful building we see today, in memory of and named after his father, William D. Weeks. It opened to the public in 1908. And as the town grew so did the need for more books, so in 1999 they completed an expansion behind what you see here that tripled the size of the library.

Lancaster Congregational United Church of Christ

Lancaster Congregational United Church of Christ

The Lancaster Congregational United Church of Christ is one of many landmarks along Main Street. This building dates back to around 1911 and was rebuilt after a fire in 1910, from which they salvaged the original stained glass and organ. Looking further back in history, the previous building was constructed in 1840, and the church, itself, the first in Lancaster, dates to 1794.

The Old County Courthouse

The old county courthouse in Lancaster

The old courthouse is a grand building constructed in 1887. It replaced the previous 1869 courthouse that was lost in a fire in 1886. Over time the county outgrew this old building and in 1995 they razed the old Lancaster Academy & High School and in its place began construction on a new county courthouse. The old courthouse still stands though it’s privately owned and home to a credit union and other businesses.   

Lancaster United States Post Office

The Lancaster Post Office

There’s something about post offices that draws my eye, especially when in an interesting building, and I quite like the one in Lancaster. It’s more recent than most of the other buildings mentioned, having been built in 1935. We drove by it on a stormy day and I chose to photograph it from within the car which resulted in the suspended rain droplets scattered across the photo. I like the look that creates.

Fuller’s Sugarhouse

Fuller’s Sugarhouse selling all things maple syrup

And finally, any trip to Lancaster, New Hampshire, wouldn’t be complete without a stop by Fuller’s Sugarhouse. A family-owned and operated business, they eventually grew enough to open a location on Main Street in 1998. They tap maple trees in the area and create several grades of maple syrup. Of course you can also find all kinds of other goodies in their store (maple syrup candy being a great one, loved those as a kid).

I hope you enjoyed this brief look at Lancaster, New Hampshire, both photographs of what it looks like as of June, 2025, as well as a little history of the town.

Have you ever visited Lancaster, New Hampshire, and if so what were your favorite parts of town?

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