The D&A, a Class One trunk line connecting Jersey City, NJ and Pittsburgh, Pa, is modeled in August 1969. D&A-owned trackage begins at Allentown, Pa. Between Jersey City, NJ and Allentown, PA it uses the CNJ mainline to access its own freight terminals in Jersey City. The D&A owns a controlling interest in the CNJ and so operates it as an integral part of its mainline. Passenger trains originate at Penn Station, New York and swing onto the CNJ via the Aldene Connection, which was put in service in 1967.

Major towns served en route are Allentown, Tamaqua, Sunbury, State College, Altoona, Johnstown, Blairsville, Jeanette and Braddock. The Allegheny Rampart is crossed between Claysburg, Beaverdale, and Johnstown. Braddock is near the west end of the railroad and is a major hump yard (one of two on the system). At Pittsburgh itself, major connections are with the Pittsburgh & Lake Erie (P&LE) and the Baltimore & Ohio (B&O), and several of the steel mill complexes are served, either directly or via local railroads.

A second route leaves the mainline at State College and heads west to Philipsburg, Clearfield, DuBois and Brookville, then via trackage rights on the Penn Cental (ex-NYC) Clarion Secondary to Ashtabula, OH, to connect with the Norfolk & Western for points west and for the coal and ore piers at Ashtabula Harbor. In season, the D&A runs iron ore from Ashtabula Harbor to Bethlehem Steel at Bethlehem, PA via DuBois.

On the mainline, just west of Tamaqua the Wyoming Sub. heads north to Hazleton, Wilkes-Barre, Pittston and Scranton, to tap the Middle and Northern anthracite fields, connecting with the Delaware & Hudson (a major partner for New England and Canadian traffic) at Pittston and with the Erie Lackawanna at Scranton.

At Blairsville, PA a line heads south via Connellsville toward West Virginia and the coal fields south of Clarksburg and Grafton. A shortcut between Connellsville and Braddock provides a route from the Connellsville area coal and coke fields to Pittsburgh. Finally, a line from Blairsville north to DuBois is a route for coal from the Shawmut area bituminous mines to Pittsburgh and for freight between Pittsburgh and Buffalo via a connection with the B&O near DuBois. Just west of DuBois a yard at Falls Creek collects and sorts coal and general freight for the region.

The D&A’s principal freight terminal is at Susquehanna Yard near Hummels Wharf, PA just across the Susquehanna River from Sunbury. It’s the mid-point of the railroad and is the other hump yard. System car and locomotive shops are also located here.

Across the width of Pennsylvania are a number of branch lines serving the wide-spread bituminous mining areas as well as what’s left of the anthracite mining regions of northeastern Pennsylvania.

The portion of the D&A modeled is a slice of the DuBois Subdivision, between Philipsburg and Clearfield with three intermediate towns being represented – West Decatur, Wallaceton and Woodland, in that order. The two staging loops in the back room (upper and lower) represent points east and west of the modeled portion.