HE LION ROARS - Lionel Collectors Club of America

a Layout and a CollectionOn Hallowed GroundMy train building rests on the site of theformer local train depot, and that wasa key decision point. It’s on the exactlocation of the old train depot in Leland.When putting in the foundation, I foundsome old railroad spikes and tie plates.The depot was originally M&St.L, butlater it became Chicago & Northwestern.When I was aboy, I’d go thereand put pennieson the track andwatch the train goby. When a trainstopped, I’d talkto the engineer. Iwas there with thetrains all the time.Bob’s TrainHouseI built the mainportion of thebuilding for alarge layout withroom for a lot ofpeople to walkaround in it andnot feel closed in.It is accessible to persons with handicaps.I can run up to seven trains at a time onindividual loops. I invite church and civicgroups to visit, and I let the trains run onopen loops with no switching from trackto track.The layout has all the Lionel operatingaccessories made in the postwar era.All of them are up and running, includingthe hard-to-find ones like the Heliport.The Sawmill and the Forklift attractthe attention of many visitors. I envyhobbyists who have layouts with sceneryand lots of detailing, but I elected to gojust with Lionel postwar items only. It’swhat I like.The Lion Roars 9