Worthwhile Wednesday: Philadelphia Man Recreates Railway of His Youth in His Basement

Dick Foley, lifelong Philadelphia resident, steps down into his basement most mornings. Not to throw in a load of laundry or to take something out of storage, but to enter into the magical world he has created: a model recreation of the city of Philadelphia and the Reading Railroad in Philadelphia circa 1953.

Foley’s interest in trains was sparked by his father who worked as a fireman on the Pennsylvania railroad before World War I. Growing up in Germantown in the 1950’s, Foley would often bike miles to a vantage point in the city where he could watch the freight trains on the Reading Railroad go by. As the years went by and life got in the way, Foley lost interest in trains, and it wasn’t until he retired in 2000 that he rediscovered his passion.

He then spent the following years researching the Reading Railroad, looking through train records and joining and association of retired railroad employees to hear about how the railroad had operated. In 2003, he began to build an intricate model in his basement, and has since been dedicated to perfectly recreating the railway of his youth.

After 13 years, the model is almost complete. Detailed replicas of the city’s former buildings, factories and warehouses line the tracks that model locomotives careen past.

For Foley, the basement is much more than just extra space below the home; it’s a way for him to retreat to his childhood and immerse himself in a lifelong hobby.