A moveable O-gauge layout raises the bar - Classic Toy Trains

More documents

Recommendations

Info

y Rick Wright | photos by Paul DolkosMEMBERS OF the armed services,Pentagon employees andlocal HO and N scale modelrailroad enthusiasts descended into mybasement, where the pungent smell ofcoal smoke (lamp oil) is complementedby the unmistakable sound of flangedwheels on steel rails. Almost immediately,at the foot of the staircase, I couldsee their broad smiles break out beforean almost overwhelming visual andaudible spectacle.Welcome to the CONUS Lines, mywonderful world of O gauge, whererealism is all-important and where thescenes have a broad range of appeal.On this day, my guests see a SouthernPacific Cab-Forward labor upgrade,the sharp crack of its exhaust echoingoff granite walls. In its tow is a longstring of iced reefers heading east. Onthe outside main line, a Daylight 4-8-4leads a gleaming passenger train over adeep canyon and into a short tunnel,bound for a distant metropolis.On another day, visitors might see apair of Conrail SD80MACs hustle a double-stackpriority intermodal manifestthrough a small town where passengersgather for the pending arrival of themorning commuter train.1. An MTH Jersey Central Blue Comet passes Duffy’scoal yard on a cold morning. The scratchbuilt facilityincludes a modified Design Tech yard office.C LASSIC T OY T RAINS 51
Further down the line, a pair ofChessie System GP38s leads an autoparts train in the shadow of a toweringrock formation known locally as“Devil’s Den.” Autumn corn standsready for the harvest.Continental by natureAll these scenes, and many more,can be found on the CONUS Lines,a layout that has variably grown andcontracted over a 27-year period. Ithas endured 10 moves (including sixtranscontinental journeys) and nowexists, in its largest configuration yet,in Northern Virginia as a 22 by 33-foot walk-around layout with two 14-foot peninsulas.CONUS is the U.S. Navy’sacronym for “Continental UnitedStates,” a designation that I feelserves as a particularly appropriatemoniker for my versatile railroad.I grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio,where seven Class I railroads operatedonly a bike-ride away from myhouse. Since then, I’ve spent 28 yearsin naval service stationed fromAnnapolis to San Diego, to Newport,Rhode Island, to Norfolk, Virginia.Naturally, my railroad interests areeclectic; therefore, so is my approachto O gauge model railroading.It isn’t hard to figure out why Igave the railroad its slogan: “Anywhere,Anytime.” Conceptually, thelayout serves as a setting or stage fora wide spectrum of railroad experiences.By swapping motive power,rolling stock, selected structures,automobiles, and billboards, my layoutcan represent scenes in Americanrailroading anytime between 2. A tinplate accessory – the 74-year-oldLionel no. 437 signal tower, complete withknife switches on its back wall – looks surprisinglyat home next to an MTH Baldwin dieselin the Cumberland Yard section of RickWright’s CONUS Lines. 3. Remember Alfred Hitchcock’s film“North by Northwest”? That’s Cary Grant(modified from a Life-Like figure) running intothe cornfield, made from dried cornhusks byRick’s wife. Just out of the photo is a 1:48 scalecrop duster chasing Grant.52 CLASSIC T OY T RAINS • N OVEMBER 2000
Page 4 and 5: 1930 and 2000 in the six geographic
Page 6 and 7: configuration, the largest to date.
Page 8 and 9: 8. Rick dressed up a Lionel no. 127

A moveable O-gauge layout raises the bar - Classic Toy Trains

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?