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Next I needed a theme. I looked around at the materials on hand and the built structure kits strewn around the basement. I spent several nights trying to find that exact something that would go together. I finally came a cross the water tower and the inspiration was born.

Now that I had a structure selected I needed a scene to go with it. Since I am still a rail fan at heart I wanted something that I could rail fan. The idea now came to me of a lonely water tower at the end of some long grade somewhere in anthracite coal country. Since this was going to be along a main line the area would have to be two tracked so one locomotive could take on water without blocking traffic. Also since this was coal country, the railroad would have been carved out of the side of some ridge.