The "Miniature Master Builder: Part II - The Homestead" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Looking at Jere's rendition of his home on the Willow Street PIke to the south of the city of Lancaster, PA.  Yesterday I showed you some of Jere's buildings that he has made from scratch for his miniature HO railroad.  Jere's life has always been closely tied to the Lancaster Train Station now known as Lancaster Amtrak.  The station was opened in 1929 and was also my playground, since I lived about 100 yards from the front door.  Jere and I first met in elementary school and when we found out we lived close to each other, found time to spend together at the railroad station, sliding down the brass railing, having cherry cokes and reading comic books at the soda fountain and making visits to see his dad at the nearby Railway Express.  After graduation from high school we both eventually found our way back to our Alma mater to teach together until retirement in 1999.  Jere and his wife Sue lived for many years on the Willow Street Pike and he decided to add his longtime home to his miniature HO layout.  Almost all Jere's structures on his layout have been built from scratch using supplies that he buys from hobby shops as well as online.  The scale for HO is 1/87th the size of the real thing.  He works with a variety of small instruments and a magnifying glass.   He takes great pride in his ability to reproduce structures by hand.  He has been part of an adult train club which makes weekly visits to other member's homes to "Play Trains" as Jere calls it.  The following photos will show you both photos taken of his home in Lancaster as well as photos taken of his reproduction of his home.  I'm sure you will be impressed with his building techniques and results he has obtained.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.  PS - The first group of 10 photos show his house in Lancaster while the second group of photos shows his building skill in miniature, including his restored old Ford pickup truck.

Front if his former house on Willow Street Pike,

He had two garages in his back yard using one for working on his race cars.

Closer look at the detail in the garages.

An out-building directly behind his house.

Looking at the one-bay garage sitting next to his house.

Looking from the rear of his home towards Willow Street Pike.

Another view of the rear of the house with garage on the right.

Side of the house opposite the garage.

Side of the house looking toward the garages in the rear of the property.

Front of the house showing the front porch.

All the previous photos were used to construct the HO model you will see below.

View from the Willow Street Pike of his property.

View of his garage with house to the right with porch above and Ford truck in the drive.

Side of the house showing the garages to the rear of the property.  Detail is unbelievable!

Another view of the side of his home.

One last view showing the entire property.