Wye Bridge Hobbies has a massive model railroad inside the store. Everyone is invited to use the layout and to help with its expansion. Beginners welcome!
I’ve met a lot of model railroaders over the years, and I’ve seen their outstanding layouts inside their homes. I’m in Oil City and I’m going to meet another model railroader. His layout is not inside his home. He built it at the place where he works.
Life couldn’t be sweeter for Jesse Gahring. He loves model railroading and it just so happens that he owns a hobby shop. He has access to all the latest products, and he talks with his fellow model railroaders all the time.
“It’s great to be able to be in my hobby and work in the hobby that I love,” Jesse tells me. “It just makes it really fun. I really enjoy it.”
Jesse opened his hobby shop in December 2023. He quickly realized he had plenty of space to build a massive model railroad layout. Work began almost immediately to construct a model railroad dedicated to the rail history of Jesse’s hometown of Oil City. The main feature of the layout is the Wye Bridge, a bridge with the shape of the letter “Y”. The real bridge, built in 1930, was designed with two ramps to allow trains to easily travel upstream or downstream along the Allegheny River. Jesse grew up just a couple of blocks from the bridge. He loves this bridge. He named his store Wye Bridge Hobbies.
“Was just trying to think of a name,” remembers Jesse, “and how we can make it fitting and historical too.”
The layout includes a spectacular replica of the main Oil City Rail Yard. Actual Pennsylvania Railroad blueprints from 1955 were used to recreate the yard. The track, the turntable, the round house, and the coal tipple are precisely located. The project is far from finished. Most of the scenery, including the river, is not yet done. Well-known buildings in the neighborhood, including the Villa Italia Restaurant, will be added. The layout is 110 feet and growing.
“When we first talked about building the layout, we were only going to do the yard section and the Wye Bridge, and that was it,” says Jesse. “Now it’s the whole south side of Oil City.”
Jesse calls this a “Community Layout.” He’s inviting people who do not have their own model railroad to come in and use this one. He is inviting people who want to learn about building a model railroad to help him with his project. He’ll teach you everything you need to know. Jesse really does have the perfect job.
“I really do enjoy it,” he says. “It’s been fun.”
Jesse has a Facebook page for just for the layout. It’s called Oil Creek and Allegheny Railroad at Wye Bridge Hobbies. He believes the finished model railroad will be a popular tourist attraction for Oil City. It already has attracted visitors from as far away as Australia, the Middle East, and the United Kingdom.
