Layout Tours

The Detroit Windsor Connecting Railroad is a 1/29th scale G gauge railroad. Unlike many large scale layouts the DWCRR is an indoor layout . NCE DCC is used. The layout models select locations in the southwest Detroit area, primarily Delray and West Detroit. Many of the class 1 roads are represented including; the C&O, NYC, CN CP, DT&I, and of course, the fictitious DWCRR. The layout has been designed for operations and supports two trains running concurrently. It has incorporated many unique components such as a transfer table to accommodate escaping from the stub end yard.

• Scale: G
• Era: 1970
• Railroad / Location: CN, CP, NYC, C&O, DT&I / Southwest Detroit
• Scheme: Proto-freelance
• Size: 29′ x 34′
• Mainline Length: 100′
• Track Completion: 100%
• Scenery Completion: 70%
• Visitor Limit: 20 at a time
• Accessibility: Stairs to layout

Bill Neale passed away on December 28, 2023. Bill’s wife Terry has graciously opened Bill’s layout to be viewed for this convention. Bill’s layout is 100% complete and features scenery from western West Virginia and eastern Ohio. An impressive feature is an 8-foot-long Ohio River bridge that takes trains between Weirton, WV, and Steubenville, OH. The layout is all 1939 steam with DCC and sound. Also featured are award-winning scratchbuilt structures, three-and four-track mainlines, four interlocking towers, and staging for more than 30 trains. Eastbound trains get pushers for two scale miles of helper grade. Published in Rail Model Journal and Great Model Railroads.

• Scale: HO
• Era: 1939
• Railroad / Location: PRR / West Virginia and eastern Ohio
• Scheme: Prototype
• Size: 27′ x 25′
• Mainline Length: 200′
• Track Completion: 100%
• Scenery Completion: 100%
• Visitor Limit: 12 at a time
• Accessibility: Stairs to layout, and there is a duck-under at the entrance to the layout room

Come see the world’s only model railroad, “Wonkavator,” created to carry multiple mainline tracks at three different heights across an aisle and then retract pneumatically into the benchwork when aisle access is needed. Byrne’s layout models Santa Fe Freight service from Los Angeles and Barstow across the desert southwest and past the Grand Tetons into Chicago’s Corwith yard. Passenger service is the Super Chief from Los Angeles Union Pacific Terminal to Chicago Dearborn Union Station, interchanging Pullman cars with the Pennsylvania Railroad’s Broadway Limited into New York’s Penn Station.

• Scale: HO
• Era: 1960s
• Railroad / Location: AT&SF / LA to Chicago
• Scheme: Proto-freelance
• Size: 35′ x 20′
• Mainline Length: 450′
• Track Completion: 70%
• Scenery Completion: 70%
• Visitor Limit: 10 at a time
• Accessibility: Stairs to layout

The Fox Run Model Railroad Club layout is a model of the Pere Marquette Railroad running from Plymouth to Holly, Michigan, as it was in the late 1940s when steam engines ruled the rails. A fun part is recreating Novi as it was in 1950, a time when sheep far outnumbered people. The track is mostly hand-laid rail on individual ties using code 83 rail on the mainline and code 70 rail in the yards. Wiring is on the front face of the layout behind the facia so that it can be worked on by people of varying abilities without having to crawl under the layout. The backdrop on the walls from the layout surface to the ceiling around the entire room was created by local artist, Norm Logan. The layout is accessible without stairways, and accessible bathrooms are adjacent to the layout room. Club members are residents of the Fox Run Senior Community.

• Scale: HO
• Era: Late 1940s
• Railroad / Location: Pere Marquette / Southeast Michigan
• Scheme: Proto-freelance
• Size: 17′ x 25′
• Mainline Length: 100′
• Track Completion: 99%
• Scenery Completion: 25%
• Visitor Limit: 25 at a time
• Accessibility: Yes, ADA accessible

Around the walls mainline with five (5) branch lines in center. Lots of switching and a large passenger yard. Mixture of kit & scratchbuilt structures.

• Scale: HO
• Era: 1970
• Railroad / Location: C&NW and RI / Iowa and Illinois
• Scheme: Proto-freelance
• Size: 28′ x 28′
• Mainline Length: 120′
• Track Completion: 100%
• Scenery Completion: 40%
• Visitor Limit: 10 at a time
• Accessibility: Stairs to layout

Norm’s 3-rail O-scale layout is set in the late steam-to-diesel transition era. The scenery is based the industrial landscape of the northeast and upper midwest in the mid to late 50s. Motive power and rolling stock are primarily PRR with trackage rights granted to B&O, C&I, N&W and others. All equipment has been modified to 3RS standards with Kadee couplers and realistic weathering. The layout is fully command controlled and features a working turntable and PRR signaling.

• Scale: O
• Era: 1950s
• Railroad / Location: PRR/northeast/midwest, plus B&O/C&O/ N&W/Others
• Scheme: Proto-freelance – NP Mountain Division
• Size: 29′ x 36′
• Mainline Length: 400′
• Track Completion: 100%
• Scenery Completion: 100%
• Visitor Limit: 20 at a time
• Accessibility: Stairs to layout

The Michigan Southern Railway uses NCE DCC. It is a 25′ x 25′ three-deck layout modeled in the 1970s  to service the auto industry. A single main, 460′ long, with passing sidings is designed for operations. The layout is signaled with a CTC boad, and uses train orders with thumbtacks for car forwarding. The scenery is 95% finished with hand painted backdrops and LED lighting.

• Scale: HO
• Era: 1970s
• Railroad / Location: Freelance / Midwest 
• Scheme: Proto-freelance
• Size: 25′ x 25′
• Mainline Length: 460′
• Track Completion: 100%
• Scenery Completion: 95%
• Visitor Limit: 15 at a time
• Accessibility: Stairs to layout

The layout models the Great Northern Railway over Stevens Pass in the Cascade Mountains between Skykomish and Wenatchee in the state of Washington.  Nearly all of the structures are scratchbuit from photos and blueprints. There are over 5,000 handmade trees and extensive rock formations, all hand done. The layout includes 160ft of catenary for heavy electrics and a 500 foot mainline. Steam, diesels, and electric locomotives are used on the layout. Timetable & Train Order (TT&TO) operations are run with train orders, clearances, and a time table. Car forwarding is by waybills. A dispatcher and an agent/operator are used. The layout has been featured in Model Railroader, the Journal and in GN Historical Society publications.

• Scale: HO
• Era: October 1955
• Railroad / Location: GN/Cascade Mountains, west-central Washington state
• Scheme: Prototype
• Size: 1,330 square feet
• Mainline Length: 500′
• Track Completion: 100%
• Scenery Completion: 100%
• Visitor Limit: 12 at a time
• Accessibility: Stairs to layout

Dan’s North Montana Line features the MILW’s 265-mile branch line in central Montana in late 1953. The layout is 100% complete with full scenery and scores of scratch-built structures from the steam-to-diesel transition. It has been widely published in the model railroad press including Model Railroader (6 articles), Railroad Model Craftsman (8 articles), NMRA Magazine (11 articles), N-Scale (29 articles), The Milwaukee Railroader (4 articles), N-Scale Railroading (9 articles), Railroad Model Journal(1), and Roundhouse (1 – England). It is single-level, cantilevered from the basement walls, and uses Easy DCC as its operating system. The layout features regular operating sessions using Timetable & Train Order (TT&TO).

• Scale: N
• Era: 1953-1954
• Railroad / Location: Milwaukee Road / North Montana
• Scheme: Prototype
• Size: 18′ x 24′
• Mainline Length: 115′
• Track Completion: 100%
• Scenery Completion: 100%
• Visitor Limit: 10 at a time
• Accessibility: Stairs to layout

The layout era is 1940s to the 1960s. Total trackage of the layout is 740 feet. This includes 340 feet of mainline and 400 feet of branch lines and HOn3 trackage. There is a Great Lakes railcar ferry that is unloaded and loaded during operating sessions. We also have a steel mill complex and many industries that are serviced as well. Scenery varies from urban to rural, and from flatlands to mountainous.

• Scale: HO, HOn3
• Era: Transition era (1940s – 1960s)
• Railroad / Location: Great Lakes
• Scheme: Freelance
• Size: 43′ x 53′
• Mainline Length: 340′
• Track Completion: 100%
• Scenery Completion: 80%
• Visitor Limit: 15 at a time
• Accessibility: Walkers and rollators should be OK, but wheelchairs could be difficult.

The NB&FH was featured on the cover and in an article in the June 2016 Model Railroader. Since then the railroad has grown both in operations and in the finer details that make this layout a visual feast for the eyes. Many of the structures and vessels are scratchbuilt or craftsman kits, with several taking best of the show and 1st place awards in competitions. Much of the steam engines and rolling stock are either scratchbuilt or highly detailed.

• Scale: HO
• Era: Mid 1920s
• Railroad / Location: Somewhere just south of the Great Lakes
• Scheme: Proto-freelance
• Size: 30′ x 50′
• Mainline Length: 400′
• Track Completion: 100%
• Scenery Completion: 90%
• Visitor Limit: 20 at a time
• Accessibility: Stairs to layout

John models the EJ&E main line from South Chicago to Waukegan. The railway has five (5) yards, four (4) on the EJ&E & one (1) on The BN. We interchange with all railroads coming into the Chicago area. Some interchanges are done via an interchange yard, others are done via one of the EJ&E yards. There are around 100 staging tracks. During a normal operating session, we can use a trainmaster, two dispatchers, seven yard operators, and 10 + main line operators. 

• Scale: HO
• Era: 1973
• Railroad / Location: EJ&E/ Chicago, IL.
• Scheme: Proto-freelance
• Size: 60′ x 38′
• Mainline Length: 500′
• Track Completion: 100%
• Scenery Completion: 90%
• Visitor Limit: 20 at a time
• Accessibility: Stairs to layout

The MIO (Move It On) Railroad System has 359 feet of mainline track and 264 feet of yard tracks, including four freight/passenger yards and an intermodal terminal.   The MIO is a New York Central connecter in the mid 1960s servicing nine small communities and two military bases.  Headend power is steam and diesel.  The large Lazy J cattle ranch provides beef to the Swift Packing Company, which sells meat to nearby military installations. The layout is highly detailed with sound and can display a nighttime period highlighting numerous building lights, streetlights, and animated signs. It has had two featured articles in N Scale magazine, including two covers and one centerfold photo, along with articles in other civic publications.  The layout is NCE DCC and operating sessions are conducted.  

• Scale: N
• Era: 1960s
• Railroad / Location: NYC / Midwest
• Scheme: Freelance
• Size: 102′ shelf
• Mainline Length: 102′
• Track Completion: 100%
• Scenery Completion: 100%
• Visitor Limit: 20 at a time
• Accessibility: Stairs to layout

The Red Pine & Oxville RR shortline serves mid-Michigan, with a NYC mainline interchange. Industries include an early Michigan coal mine, gravel business, logging, agriculture, and small-town operations. The RP&O has been published in the NMRA Magazine, Model Railroader, S-Gauge Dispatch, and the S Gaugian magazine cover.

• Scale: S
• Era: 1937
• Railroad / Location: New York Central, Mid-Michigan
• Scheme: Proto-freelance
• Size: 18′ x 24′
• Mainline Length: 110′
• Track Completion: 100%
• Scenery Completion: 85%
• Visitor Limit: 10 at a time
• Accessibility: Stairs to layout

Point-to-point Michigan shortline railroad running from Adrian to Riga.  Interchanges with the Norfolk Southern on one end and the Indiana and Ohio Railway on the other.  The primary engines are EMD GP9s.  This railroad appeared in the 2018 Model Railroad Planning magazine.

• Scale: HO
• Era: 2010
• Railroad / Location: ADBF / SE Michigan
• Scheme: Prototype
• Size: 26′ x 13′
• Mainline Length: 240′
• Track Completion: 100%
• Scenery Completion: 70%
• Visitor Limit: 8 at a time
• Accessibility: Stairs to layout

The South Oakland Club was founded 1954. The Club acquired a building and began construction of the current layout 2002. The layout represents the Holly Subdivision with two (2) Yards, an Engine Terminal and 14 switching locations. The two-level layout is double track on the lower level and single track on the upper. Control includes wireless Digitrax DCC, complete signals, and is dispatched by CTC and radio. Operations are held twice each month hosting up to 15 operators. Key Scenic details include:  Industrial Switching, Ferndale Yard, Royal Oak, Birmingham Station, Yellow Cab loading for GM Pontiac Truck and Bus Plant, Pontiac Yard, Holly and Gaines.  

• Scale: HO
• Era: 1960-1975
• Railroad / Location: ADBF / SE Michigan
• Scheme: Proto-freelance
• Size: 30′ x 50′
• Mainline Length: 700′
• Track Completion: 100%
• Scenery Completion: 100%
• Visitor Limit: 20 at a time
• Accessibility: Yes, ADA accessible

Steam-to-diesel transition era single track mainline with heavy detailing throughout featuring a city, an industrial sector, a mountain valley with a dramatic waterfall and bridges, and a busy harbor.

• Scale: HO
• Era: 1930-1955
• Railroad / Location: Grand Trunk / Canadian National / Fictional Location
• Scheme: Freelance
• Size: 15′ x 15′
• Mainline Length: 100′
• Track Completion: 90%
• Scenery Completion: 60%
• Visitor Limit: 5 at a time
• Accessibility: Stairs to layout

Tim’s focus was to build a layout in a short time with one town and one staging yard. The theme is Santa Fe in Pampa, Texas during 1944. Pampa is along the Santa Fe’s Southern freight mainline and is the beginning of a double track section that extends through Amarillo to Canyon, TX. Pampa had Oil and Gas Refineries, Carbon Black Plants, and Pipeline Companies.  There was a yard, a wye, engine service facilities, a freight house, cattle loading, and a branch line to Clinton, OK. The model has a four track yard, a wye, a one-stall engine facility, the branch, an interchange with the FW&D, and 14 customers. There are more than 60 customer car spots. There are 8 staging tracks for the mainline that hold 30 car freights. Staging also has engine pockets to provide a variety of engines. The branch has two staging tracks that hold 10 car mixed trains. There are 18 sound equipped steam engines, 250 freight cars and 10 passenger cars. Control is  Easy DCC.    

• Scale: HO
• Era: 1944
• Railroad / Location: New York Central, Mid-Michigan
• Scheme: Prototype
• Size: 33′ x 28′
• Mainline Length: 116′
• Track Completion: 100%
• Scenery Completion: 65%
• Visitor Limit: 12 at a time
• Accessibility: Stairs to layout

A single track point-to-point railroad based on the New York Central, with turning loops and hidden or visible staging, set in the mid-1950s steam-to-diesel transition period. The railroad contains seven small towns with 19 rail-served industries. It is designed for operations by up to five people, and is fully signaled, except for a dark branch line. There are two coal mines and paper mill on the branch. There is an engine servicing facility and a four track yard at one end. There are seven bridges that span the aisle ways, including two on a dutch-door entrance to the railroad. Most structures are kitbashed or scratch built. The railroad is 11 years old (so far) in construction, aided by two Master Model Railroaders and S gauge train friends.

• Scale: S
• Era: 1955
• Railroad / Location: New York Central / Northern Michigan
• Scheme: Proto-freelance
• Size: 29′ x 29′
• Mainline Length: 700′
• Track Completion: 100%
• Scenery Completion: 100%
• Visitor Limit: 10 at a time
• Accessibility: Stairs to layout

The Detroit Union Railroad is a layout which was designed in the early 1970s. Our building is a former movie theatre which allows us to use the sloping floor to our advantage. The general concept is to have a large city in the lower level, and from that city you can leave via a double-track mainline or a single-track mainline. We host multiple open houses through the year so the layout can be used to run continuously for display, or be staged for full layout operating sessions. We have an elevation difference of seven feet, and the layout topography was designed around the mainline grades.

• Scale: O (two-rail)
• Era: Transition
• Railroad / Location: Freelance
• Scheme: Proto-freelance
• Size: 30′ x 100′
• Mainline Length: 1,200′
• Track Completion: 95%
• Scenery Completion: 60%
• Visitor Limit: 20 at a time
• Accessibility: Yes, ADA accessible

The Michigan Shore line Railroad is a point-to-point railroad that prioritizes car card operations. There is over 1,500′ of hand laid track with a 900′ mainline. The eastern division of the railroad uses ABS signaling and a dispatcher manages the traffic. This railroad has been using wireless DCC for the last 10 years. Some notable features and details include a gauntlet track, two 20′ (or longer) trestles, a compressed Montreal River Dam scene, and a PVC pipe which extends 14′ outside the house as a third leg of the wye in one of our yards.

• Scale: O (2 rail)
• Era: 1940s – 1960s
• Railroad / Location: Freelance / Michigan
• Scheme: Freelance
• Size: 34′ x 58′
• Mainline Length: 900′
• Track Completion: 100%
• Scenery Completion: 40%
• Visitor Limit: 15 at a time
• Accessibility: Stairs to layout

This layout is based on a freelance design with a double-track mainline and a branch line.  It is designed for display running of both steam and diesel trains. There are many lighted structures and a lot of scenery details. It includes a beautiful background based on the Detroit area. The layout is complete.

• Scale: HO
• Era: 1950s – 1970s
• Railroad / Location: Freelance / Metro Detroit
• Scheme: Freelance
• Size: 17′ x 12′
• Mainline Length: 150′
• Track Completion: 100%
• Scenery Completion: 100%
• Visitor Limit: 10 at a time
• Accessibility: Stairs to layout

This railroad represents portions of the PRR’s Northern Division in July, 1953. The railroad is centered on the Babcock Street yard in Buffalo, NY, featuring a nine-stall roundhouse and a 115 foot turntable. Other features just west of the yard are the scratchbuilt FW tower (eight-page article: RMC, March 2021) and the 400’ long freight house at Seneca St. The Buffalo Main Line extends southeast towards Emporium, PA, with the town of Olean, NY as a way-point. Running southwest of Buffalo, south of Lake Erie, is the PRR’s Chautauqua Branch as far as Brocton, NY.

The layout is built in S scale (1:64), with code 100 track at 43” minimum radius and 2% maximum grade. It is DCC-controlled and designed for operations, with a 320’ single-track mainline terminating in hidden reversing loops at each end. There are 40 structures in place, many scratchbuilt and kitbashed.

• Scale: S
• Era: 1953
• Railroad / Location: PRR / Northern Division
• Scheme: Proto-freelance
• Size: 30′ x 42′
• Mainline Length: 320′
• Track Completion: 100%
• Scenery Completion: 75%
• Visitor Limit: 20 at a time
• Accessibility: Stairs to layout

Articles

• Relocating a Railroad – The S-Scale Resource – June-July 2016
• The Buffalo & Chautauqua Railroad – The S-Scale Resource – June-July 2016

The Rochester & Richmond is a freelanced railroad in the Appalachia region in the late steam era, with steam locomotives providing primary power. It consists of a double track mainline of about 130 feet with single track branch line to two coal mines. Scenery ranges from industrial regions to mountains, and includes a small yard with a locomotive servicing, a harbor with a car float, and a winter scene.   

• Scale: HO
• Era: 1950s
• Railroad / Location: Freelance / Appalachia
• Scheme: Freelance
• Size: 35′ x 16′
• Mainline Length: 180′
• Track Completion: 100%
• Scenery Completion: 100%
• Visitor Limit: 15 at a time
• Accessibility: Stairs to layout

“A model railroad masterpiece” is how CBS TV described the Qualman’s 3,000-square-foot HO-scale empire. Also featured in national and regional print media, the prototype layout depicts the major rail lines radiating from the Detroit/Windsor riverfront in the early 1950s, resulting in complex trackage, many junctions, four turntables/roundhouses, and a dozen yards. 

Capturing and preserving family history was a core goal. Portions of 20 cities meaningful to Jay and Brook are modeled, including family homes and businesses, schools, churches, and favorite stores. With friend John Bussard’s valuable contributions, the result is a structure-intensive layout with hundreds of unique scratchbuilt and kitbashed buildings. 

Special features include steel benchwork, five precision aisle lift bridges, coved corners, multi-level lighting, sunrise/sunset effect, illuminated structures, and seamless facia. The home’s layout level overlooks the Lake State/CSX north-south mainline, so a 1:1 train sighting is possible anytime!

• Scale: HO
• Era: Early 1950s
• Railroad / Location: NYC, PM, GTW, WAB, PRR / Southeast Michigan
• Scheme: Prototype
• Size: 92′ x 33′
• Mainline Length: 900′
• Track Completion: 100%
• Scenery Completion: 75%
• Visitor Limit: 40 at a time
• Accessibility: Stairs to layout

The Clarkston Sub of the PONY RR depicts operations on the Union Pacific Railroad in Wyoming, and the newly acquired trackage rights in Toronto, Canada, and Pforzheim Germany. The Wyodak mine is the main industry, providing coal to many customers. Railfanning is the real attraction on the Clarkston Sub, with open running through Wyoming, and switching in all towns along the route.  

• Scale: HO
• Era: 1950-present
• Railroad / Location: Union Pacific / Global
• Scheme: Proto-freelance
• Size: 23′ x 23′
• Mainline Length: 210′
• Track Completion: 100%
• Scenery Completion: 100%
• Visitor Limit: 8 at a time
• Accessibility: Stairs to layout

The POND Central is a small passenger line that services the small outdoor world in Clarkston. The trolley provides passenger excursion service, while the peddler freight mostly makes a loop and then parks for its next trip.

• Scale: G
• Era: Present
• Railroad / Location: Freelance / Germany
• Scheme: Proto-freelance
• Size: 20′ x 30′
• Mainline Length: 75′
• Track Completion: 100%
• Scenery Completion: 100%
• Visitor Limit: 8 at a time
• Accessibility: Stairs to layout

Point-to-point double-deck layout designed for prototype operations. Large yard and engine facility at Clifton Forge and two staging yards. CTC Mainline several passenger trains. Code 83 and 70 track, #6 and #8 switches. Published in several magazines.

• Scale: HO
• Era: 1965
• Railroad / Location: C&O / Hinton, WV to Glastone, VA
• Scheme: Prototype
• Size: 25′ x 37′
• Mainline Length: 650′
• Track Completion: 100%
• Scenery Completion: 100%
• Visitor Limit: 8 at a time
• Accessibility: Stairs to layout

The layout is set in the fall of 1940/1950 during the transition era. Richard designed and built several scratchbuilt structures. There are also numerous kitbashed and out-of-the-box structures. In total, there are 150 structures. In addition to the main 29′ x 32′ layout room,  there is a 6′ x 13.5′  room with a yard and entire engine facility and another area that is 12′ long for the train holding yard.

• Scale: HO
• Era: 1940s-1950s
• Railroad / Location: C&NW in Michigan upper peninsula and Wisconsin
• Scheme: Proto-freelance
• Size: 29′ x 32′
• Mainline Length: 350′
• Track Completion: 100%
• Scenery Completion: 100%
• Visitor Limit: 10 at a time
• Accessibility: Stairs to layout

Focus is on branch line towns of Marlinton, Cass, Durbin, Frank, and Bartow plus the Cass Scenic Railroad.  Also includes a connection to mainline at Ronceverte (WV), a paper mill at Covington (VA), and resort branch to Hot Springs (VA).  Scenery features autumn foliage and many scratch built structures based on prototype locations.

During your visit, you can also view three boutique layouts featuring quarry and stone cutting (HO), marine operations (N), and cement plant (O gauge). 

• Scale: HO
• Era: 1960
• Railroad / Location: C&O / West Virgina & Virginia
• Scheme: Prototype
• Size: 16′ x 24′
• Mainline Length: 88′
• Track Completion: 100%
• Scenery Completion: 95%
• Visitor Limit: 6 at a time
• Accessibility: Not accessible

Features copper mining, logging, and related industrial facilities. Includes two shaft houses, a stamp mill, a logging camp, and a sawmill with a log pond. There is a harbor with a wharf, a park, and small wooden ore dock loading a barge. You’ll find two small towns, one with a circus tent and train, along with a small farm scene. 

During your visit, you can also view three boutique layouts featuring quarry and stone cutting (HO), marine operations (N), and cement plant (O gauge).

• Scale: G
• Era: 1950
• Railroad / Location: Upper peninsula of Michigan
• Scheme: Freelance
• Size: 12′ x 31′
• Mainline Length: 85′
• Track Completion: 100%
• Scenery Completion: 80%
• Visitor Limit: 6 at a time
• Accessibility: Not accessible

Tom’s Durango & Silverton layout was originally designed by Doug Tagsold to be an operating representation of the narrow gauge line between Durango & Silverton. It features brass locomotives powered by Easy DCC and wireless throttles. The layout has mountains exceeding the visitors height, a yawning canyon along the Animas river, and visual separation between the destinations.

• Scale: On3
• Era: 1955
• Railroad / Location: D&S / Colorado
• Scheme: Proto-freelance
• Size: 30′ x 15′
• Mainline Length: 250′
• Track Completion: 100%
• Scenery Completion: 95%
• Visitor Limit: 20 at a time
• Accessibility: Stairs to layout

Tom’s second railroad is an exercise in HO scale, designed for operations. It encompasses a waterfront with car floats, a coal mine, heavy industry, a refinery, a large urban city, and a staging yard. Because of the relatively tight space, a folded dogbone with a reversing loop was employed. The layout supports plenty of point-to-point operations.

• Scale: HO
• Era: 1955
• Railroad / Location: Freelance / East & north of the Mississippi
• Scheme: Freelance
• Size: 25′ x 10′
• Mainline Length: 120′
• Track Completion: 95%
• Scenery Completion: 75%
• Visitor Limit: 10 at a time
• Accessibility: Stairs to layout

The Reading Lines, Central Division is set in 1970 and is completely operational. Operating sessions are held every 2.5 months with 5 crews and a dispatcher. At this time, the Reading Line is going strong moving coal and freight, along with commuter traffic to those who are working in the big city of Philadelphia. The Reading Lines is a double-track mainline with continuous running and is operated with EasyDCC for full sound in all locomotives. The layout is L shaped, approx. 40 x 24.

• Scale: HO
• Era: 1970
• Railroad / Location: Reading Lines / Southeast Pennsylvania
• Scheme: Proto-freelance
• Size: 24′ x 40′
• Mainline Length: Two main lines at 190′ each
• Track Completion: 100%
• Scenery Completion: 99%
• Visitor Limit: 20 at a time
• Accessibility: Stairs to layout

The BMRC layout is loosely based on a section of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad from Cincinnati, OH to Charleston, WV, with a branch to Elkhorn City, KY, the line from Limeville Jct, KY to Toledo, OH, and a portion of the Clinchfield Railroad from Elkhorn City, KY to Johnson City, TN, in the 1955-1965 era. The layout has five levels, 16 towns, and 48 industries including the Port of Toledo and the Armaco Steelmill.

• Scale: HO
• Era: 1955 – 1965
• Railroad / Location: C&O / Ohio, Kentucky, West Virginia, and Tennessee
• Scheme: Proto-freelance
• Size: 27′ x 98′
• Mainline Length: 180′
• Track Completion: 100%
• Scenery Completion: 100%
• Visitor Limit: 60 at a time
• Accessibility: Yes, ADA accessible

The Colorado & Southern Clear Creek District models the C&S narrow gauge line from Denver west into the Rocky Mountain mining towns of Idaho Springs, Georgetown, Silver Plume, Black Hake and Central City. The layout is open for layout tours, as well as for operating sessions, which are run under basic timetable and train order (TT/TO) operating rules. (Only a basic understanding of TT/TO operating rules is required). The layout was featured in Model Railroad Planning 2018, and in Model Railroader in 2025.

• Scale: 1:72
• Era: 1920s
• Railroad / Location: C&S / Colorado
• Scheme: Prototype
• Size: 40′ x 40′
• Mainline Length: 725′
• Track Completion: 100%
• Scenery Completion: 95%
• Visitor Limit: 20 at a time
• Accessibility: Stairs to layout

Replicating the mainline in west-central Montana during the 1950s, representing the crossing of the Rocky Mountains through Marias Pass, including eight towns and seven bridges along the eight scale miles of mainline. 

• Scale: HO
• Era: 1950 – 1958
• Railroad / Location: GN / 200 miles between Havre, Montana and Whitefish, Montana
• Scheme: Prototype
• Size: 42′ x 54′
• Mainline Length: 485′
• Track Completion: 99%
• Scenery Completion: 85%
• Visitor Limit: 40 at a time
• Accessibility: Stairs to layout

The Wheeling & Lake Erie, Ohio River Division models the W&LE mainline from Brewster, Ohio, to the Ohio River at Mingo Junction, Ohio, during the steam-to-diesel transition era. The Wheeling Pitt Steel Mill is the largest customer on the line, with coal, stone, and general merchandise freight switched as well. This layout was featured in Great Model Railroads 2015 when it was being modeled in the modern era.  

• Scale: HO
• Era: 1957
• Railroad / Location: W&LE / Southeast Ohio
• Scheme: Prototype
• Size: 27′ x 44′
• Mainline Length: 175′
• Track Completion: 100%
• Scenery Completion: 100%
• Visitor Limit: 8 at a time
• Accessibility: Stairs to layout

Articles

• Track plan

Multi-level urban and mountainous scenery. Interchanges with the P&LE, Erie, and C&O railroads. North and south traffic are hidden in a separate room. Operations includes freight, passenger, and dedicated switching service. Switch lists are currently being used. Scenery includes a deep ravine with flowing water. All rock work is plaster detailed using dental picks. A stone arch bridge is 100% hand-carved plaster.

• Scale: HO
• Era: Steam-to-diesel transition
• Railroad / Location: PRR and B&O / Freelance
• Scheme: Proto-freelance
• Size: 35′ x 66′
• Mainline Length: 500′
• Track Completion: 100%
• Scenery Completion: 100%
• Visitor Limit: 20 at a time
• Accessibility: Stairs to layout

Layout depicting the coal-hauling Soo Line in southern Indiana around Jasonville and Linton, focusing on rural and small-town scenery. Latta Yard is the centerpiece with a lot of woods and fields on either side. About 1/3 of the structures are scratchbuilt to match the prototype. The upper deck has a 90 foot long mainline plus staging and automated return loops. It is fully sceniced except for a few small details. The lower level is a branch line to a coal loadout without any scenery (yet). No operations yet. Published in Great Model Railroads 2019.

• Scale: HO
• Era: 1993
• Railroad / Location: Soo / Southern Indiana
• Scheme: Proto-freelance
• Size: 20′ x 35′
• Mainline Length: 90′
• Track Completion: 100%
• Scenery Completion: 60%
• Visitor Limit: 15 at a time
• Accessibility: Stairs to layout

The PRR Toledo Division in the 1950s runs from just west of Mansfield, Ohio to Detroit with a branch line from Columbus Ohio to the docks at Sandusky Ohio. The modeled portion of the Toledo division runs from Carrothers, Ohio where the branch line from Columbus crossed to Sandusky. Staging on the lower level represents Detroit, Cleveland, Columbus, Pittsburgh and Chicago.

Major areas of operations are the interchange at Carrothers, Tiffin, and the local industries, lime plants at Millersville and Gibsonburg, Ohio, Outer Yard in Toledo, downtown Toledo, and associated industries along Water Street and the Ann Arbor Railroad that serviced industries in North Toledo. Operations consist of through freights, passenger (both local and The Red Arrow), way freights, and yard operations.

The PRR Toledo Division uses Signals by Spreadsheet (SBS) to control the routes and operating signals on the layout. Operating sessions are held monthly using a dispatcher and wayside phones for the movement of trains. A CTC panel is currently being designed.

• Scale: HO
• Era: 1950
• Railroad / Location: PRR / Ohio
• Scheme: Prototype
• Size: 24′ x 26′
• Mainline Length: 410′
• Track Completion: 100%
• Scenery Completion: 50%
• Visitor Limit: 10 at a time
• Accessibility: Stairs to layout

This is a modular layout with many unique design features in its construction. The Wabash 2nd Division has appeared at eight NMRA National Conventions (this will be our ninth) to give NMRA members the chance to learn the ins and outs of Time Table and Train Order (TT&TO) operations in a stress free environment. We have hosted over 875 participants at the conventions.

• Scale: HO
• Era: 1964, fall
• Railroad / Location: Wabash Railroad / Central Indiana 
• Scheme: Proto-freelance
• Size: 25′ x 53′
• Mainline Length: 400′
• Track Completion: 100%
• Scenery Completion: 95%
• Visitor Limit: 15 at a time
• Accessibility: Yes, ADA accessible. About 60 feet of gravel drive and one cement-to-cement step.

Rick’s layout is a freelanced representation of modern-day summer from the Great Plains to the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. The layout is in its own pole building and measures 26’ X 56’ with a double-track main line and a four-track diamond. Rick has close to 150 DC diesel engines from the fallen flags of the Union Pacific Railroad including Missouri Pacific, Denver & Rio Grande, Chicago & North Western, Southern Pacific, and Kansas City Southern. Rick also runs a UP Big Boy with two tenders. There are two engine facilities, a thirteen-track run-through yard, two grain elevators, a complete steel mill, a refinery, a coal fueled power plant, and other large and small industries.

• Scale: HO
• Era: Modern
• Railroad / Location: UP Fallen Flags / Great Plains to Rocky Mountain foothills 
• Scheme: Freelance
• Size: 26′ x 56′
• Mainline Length: Not measured
• Track Completion: 100%
• Scenery Completion: 99%
• Visitor Limit: 25 at a time
• Accessibility: Yes, ADA accessible. One 45″ duck-under

Point-to-point designed for operations. Seven towns, a large yard and engine facility, and three staging yards. Supports several passenger trains and also freight trains with switching.

• Scale: HO
• Era: 1974 – 1988
• Railroad / Location: Chessie / West Virginia
• Scheme: Proto-freelance
• Size: 35′ x 45′
• Mainline Length: 420′
• Track Completion: 90%
• Scenery Completion: 60%
• Visitor Limit: 15 at a time
• Accessibility: Stairs to layout

The Nashville Road (Chicago, Indianapolis, Nashville & Southern Railway) is a proto-freelance railroad, and the main railroad on the layout with an additional five railroads in supporting roles. Operations are heavy on this triple deck railroad with three large busy freight yards and a large and busy Union Passenger Station, along with several switching districts with lots of customers and traffic. The six railroads have a total of 70+ trains on the 24 hour schedule. Traffic control is Timetable and Train Order (TT/TO) with a dispatcher in his office and a party telephone line for communications. Car cards and waybills are used for car forwarding, and NCE radio throttles run the trains.

• Scale: HO
• Era: 1956
• Railroad / Location: Bowling Green KY to Columbia, TN
• Scheme: Freelance
• Size: 48′ x 56′
• Mainline Length: 1,100′
• Track Completion: 98%
• Scenery Completion: 25%
• Visitor Limit: 25 at a time
• Accessibility: Stairs to layout

The Huron Valley Railroad is our club’s HO scale layout. It is loosely based on the Norfolk Southern Railroad from Detroit to Jackson. In our version of history, when the New York Central was merging with the Pennsylvania RR, it was decided that this track was not needed. A small regional railroad was created to handle the local traffic on the line.

• Scale: HO
• Era: 1970
• Railroad / Location: Huron Valley / Southeast Michigan
• Scheme: Proto-freelance
• Size: 20′ x 60′
• Mainline Length: 300′
• Track Completion: 100%
• Scenery Completion: 95%
• Visitor Limit: 15 at a time
• Accessibility: Yes, ADA accessible

As you descend the stairs to the railroad room, you will envision yourself going back in time to the 1950’s during the early diesel and steam era. You will notice the ten-stall round house servicing steam engines, a rail yard and crossing signals/flashing light, as well as towns with many weathered buildings. There are three railroad depots.

There are many industries located throughout the layout. Many of these buildings are detailed and lighted inside. The branch line contains Truax Mining, Truax Timber with a sawmill with a small town and cattle yards, an engine facility with a turn table, and a lumber company. The layout is covered with conifers and aspen trees.

The railroad has been published in Railmodel Journal (Oct 2007), Scale Rails (Nov 2006), Model Railroad Hobbyist, Bob Truax Great Northern (Internet), Train Master TV Video. The layout was opened to five NCR NMRA Division 5 open houses and two National convention open houses (2007 and 2011).

• Scale: HO
• Era: 1950
• Railroad / Location: GN / Western Montana
• Scheme: Prototype
• Size: 26′ x 31′
• Mainline Length: 150′
• Track Completion: 100%
• Scenery Completion: 100%
• Visitor Limit: 15 at a time
• Accessibility: Stairs to layout

Freelance  of life experiances, over 100 vignettes, tunnels, and bridges. All trees are golden rod, sedum, and mostly natural scenery materials. Chuck enjoys the scenery aspect, and tries to make it as realistic as possible. There are four different tracks on three levels. Chuck was on the NMRA layout tour in 2007 [Detroit]. The layout can run 4 35-car freight trains at the same time. Lot’s of details to look at.

• Scale: HO
• Era: 2000
• Railroad / Location: CSX and others / Midwest
• Scheme: Freelance
• Size: 10′ x 30′
• Mainline Length: 80′
• Track Completion: 100%
• Scenery Completion: 100%
• Visitor Limit: 20 at a time
• Accessibility: Stairs to layout

UP and SP shared branchline operations in the northwestern Oregon.  

• Scale: HO
• Era: 1960s
• Railroad / Location: UP & SP / Northwest Oregon
• Scheme: Proto-freelance
• Size: 13′ x 23′
• Mainline Length: 79′
• Track Completion: 90%
• Scenery Completion: 50%
• Visitor Limit: 4 at a time
• Accessibility: Stairs to layout

Our two-deck layout is a proto-freelanced interpretation of the easternmost 49 miles of Canadian Pacific Railways’s Sudbury to Sault Ste. Marie secondary mainline during the summer of 1984. Twelve or more trains every hour was common on our modeled part of the prototype at that time. Trains pass through scenery typical of northern Ontario, with frequent rock outcrops, wetlands, and stream crossings. Gradients past the rim of the Sudbury Basin are modest. Two long industrial spurs serve the nickel and copper extraction and processing industry. Other modeled industries include two large integrated paper mills, quartzite and trap rock quarries, industrial parks, concrete distribution, and a crushed nickel slag loader. Operation is governed by timetable and train order (TT&TO) using fast clocks. Point-to-point operation is typical, but a double-ended fiddle yard allows continuous operation if desired. Six to twelve operators can be accommodated during a typical operating session.

• Scale: HO
• Era: 1984
• Railroad / Location: CP / Northern Ontario
• Scheme: Freelance
• Size: 24′ x 49′
• Mainline Length: 450′
• Track Completion: 100%
• Scenery Completion: 75%
• Visitor Limit: 12 at a time
• Accessibility: Stairs to layout

The layout features an O-scale city streetcar line that traverses both commercial and residential districts. There are a variety of street car models, all based on prototypes from the 20s through the 50s. Powering the street cars throughout are prototypical overhead trolley lines. The layout is 100% complete, with many commercial and residential structures, vehicles, and people.

• Scale: O
• Era: 1950s – 1960s
• Railroad / Location: Freelance
• Scheme: Proto-freelance
• Size: 10′ x 16′
• Mainline Length: 90′
• Track Completion: 100%
• Scenery Completion: 100%
• Visitor Limit: 4 at a time
• Accessibility: Stairs to layout

The Iowa Central at Vinton, Iowa, is a prototype-freelance Layout Design Element depicting my fictional Iowa Central operating on former Rock Island track after the March 1980 shutdown.

My time period is in the mid to late 1980’s which provides opportunities for colorful locomotive consists as well as a variety of freight traffic. Scenic highlights are the four bridge scenes; three over creeks and one over a city street in otherwise flat Iowa. Location photos are placed around the layout so you can check and see how the LDE is progressing in the recreation of this interesting town.

• Scale: HO
• Era: Mid 1980s
• Railroad / Location: Iowa Central / Vinton, Iowa
• Scheme: Proto-freelance
• Size: 13′ x 19′
• Mainline Length: 50′
• Track Completion: 95%
• Scenery Completion: 75%
• Visitor Limit: 10 at a time
• Accessibility: Stairs to layout

This N Scale live coal layout features mountain scenery and post C&O/B&O/CSX merger rolling stock. It has three operating coal loadouts and two unloaders from two different eras. Modern operations use a flood loader and a rotary dumper, inspired by a Detroit Edison facility and serviced by a unit train of twin-tub gondolas with rotary couplers. The earlier era is represented by a 50s-style breaker, a small 80s-style loadout, and an up-and-over dumper that uses a kick-back track and a Barney or mule to move the hoppers.

• Scale: N
• Era: 1960 and 1990
• Railroad / Location: CSX / Appalachian coal country
• Scheme: Proto-freelance
• Size: 11′ x 17′
• Mainline Length: 60′
• Track Completion: 100%
• Scenery Completion: 85%
• Visitor Limit: 8 at a time
• Accessibility: Stairs to layout

The Lansing Model Railroad Club’s HO scale layout, built in the early 1980s in the old Millett train station, has been greatly expanded since a large addition was added to the building in 2010. The layout expansion is multi-deck construction and includes a helix, staging yard, and ore dock. Be sure to visit and explore the MA tower, which once controlled trains through Lansing and has been moved next to the depot and restored to the days gone by. In time, layout dispatching will be done from the tower.

• Scale: HO
• Era: 1950s
• Railroad / Location: H&S / Michigan
• Scheme: Proto-freelance
• Size: 14′ x 30′ and 12′ x 24′
• Mainline Length: 550′
• Track Completion: 85%
• Scenery Completion: 60%
• Visitor Limit: 20 at a time
• Accessibility: Partially ADA accessible

The layout is loosely base on the industrial area along the Cuyahoga River, which includes the NKP, NYC, Big 4, PRR, B&O, Erie/E-L and several short and industrial lines. Included is a part of the old river bed with a great lakes freighter, tugs, and other vessels. Industries abound, including a blast furnace, steel mill, grain elevator, small refinery, and others.

• Scale: N
• Era: Late 1950s – early 1960s
• Railroad / Location: Various / Cleveland Flats along Cuyahoga River
• Scheme: Freelance
• Size: 11′ x 7′
• Mainline Length: 40′
• Track Completion: 100%
• Scenery Completion: 90%
• Visitor Limit: 5 at a time
• Accessibility: Stairs to layout

Point to point designed for operations. Ten (10) towns, a large yard and engine facility, and two staging yards. Supports lots of switching and several passenger trains. Around 250 hand-laid code 55 switches, and they’re all powered. Published in several magazines.

• Scale: N
• Era: 1955
• Railroad / Location: NP / Montana
• Scheme: Proto-freelance – NP Mountain Division
• Size: 38′ x 52′
• Mainline Length: 400′
• Track Completion: 98%
• Scenery Completion: 90%
• Visitor Limit: 20 at a time
• Accessibility: Stairs to layout

The layout uses three types of operation, CTC, ABS, TWC and all local controls are with 5″, 7″, and 10″ touchscreens. All locomotives are sound-equipped EMD/Alco first and second generation models. Layout has seven Proto-thottles and uses a 4:1 fast clock. Control system is commercial hardware (crestron.com) 

• Scale: HO
• Era: 1986
• Railroad / Location: C&O, L&N, ICG / Lexington, Kentucky
• Scheme: Proto-freelance
• Size: 20′ x 30′
• Mainline Length: 400′
• Track Completion: 100%
• Visitor Limit: 8 at a time
• Accessibility: Stairs to layout
• Scenery Completion: 10%

With 215 feet of mainline, this railroad models the Erie Railroad from Hornell, NY to Marion, OH. This includes the large yard and engine terminal at Meadville. The layout includes a large number of scratch built structures.  This layout has been published in a number of magazines.

• Scale: HO
• Era: 1953
• Railroad / Location: Erie / Hornell, NY to Marion, OH
• Scheme: Prototype
• Size: 24′ x 32′
• Mainline Length: 215′
• Track Completion: 100%
• Scenery Completion: 10%
• Visitor Limit: 8 at a time
• Accessibility: Stairs to layout