Thanks to the donation of period German structures, the Society is constructing an HO scale train layout of what a small German town might have looked like in the early year of WW2. A marshaling yard has rail cars loaded with supplies headed to the front and an industrial area which is busy producing things needed for the military. A rail gun is being prepared for action and troops are on the march. In the town, life goes on with a busy rail station, and town folks going about their business.
There will be a running train loaded with soldiers and supplies. A special thanks to the Rochester Model Railroad Club for their help in laying the track and advice on the layout. A number of tanks and figures have been detailed by our volunteer, Mike Vasile, who is an avid wargamer and model painter. We will keep updating the progress of the layout.
PBR was the designation for small fiberglass patrol boats used in Viet Nam from 1966-71. They had jet drive propulsion and could be used in the shallow waters of the Delta and the rivers. The PBR 1 was 31 ft. long and the PBR 2 was 32 ft. long. Both carried a variety of weapons and could be armed with .50 cal. Machine guns, 20mm automatic cannons, grenade launchers and or mortars.
Carrying a crew of 4, the PBR was an effective in keeping the enemy in check along the waterways. (This was the type of boat in Apocalypse Now that transported Martin Sheen’s character in his quest for Col. Kurtz) The members of the Model Shipwrights Guild of Western NY is currently building a 1/6th scale (5’1”) model of the PBR 1 for the Society. When completed, it will have accurately scaled weapons and crew. We will be posting progress photos as the build progresses.