O Scale Trains Magazine Online

eginnings
For Christmas 1975, I received my very first train, an O-27
Marx “Yardmaster” complete with a searchlight car, crane,
a flatcar with stakes, and a neat little work caboose. I spent
many hours on the floor running it past Lego houses and
lines of Hot Wheels waiting patiently at imaginary crossings.
Not long after the initial charm wore off, I took the shell off
the engine and became fascinated with its inner workings.
A few years later I received my first Lionel set, the “Wabash
Cannonball”, at the time considered a major upgrade since
it was my first die-cast steamer. Soon after receiving this set,
I started to work on my first layout. I named it “Greensville”,
and it was nothing more than a chunk of plywood covered in
Life-Like grass paper with a train station made out of a shoebox.
This was replaced in time by the Wabash Short Line, a
4’ x 5’ layout sitting atop a set of sawhorses built by an uncle.
since then…
Throughout my teen years, I would pursue the hobby in
fits and starts, even experimenting with HO and N Scale for
a brief time. It was not until 1994 that I began to pursue O
Gauge again, after living in Pittsburgh for a few years. Being
around Pittsburgh’s awesome railroad and industrial heritage
got me hooked once again, as I was able to do some memorable
railfanning and train collecting. Years later, after a series
of moves around the country and having built my fair share
of apartment-sized layouts, my wife and I settled in Michigan.
While house shopping in late 2002, quite a few basements
• O Scale Trains - Nov/Dec ’06
were scoped out for what was to be my latest layout. After
settling in to our new home, work began in earnest to prepare
the space that my newest and largest layout would occupy.
initial Layout Concept and Construction
Once I had the space prepared for construction, I began
to work on a trackplan and a concept for the layout. Initially,
I just wanted to run a lot of trains, both scale and semi-scale
at the same time, in a mostly scale environment. Wide curves
were a must for some of the larger scale steamers I managed
to acquire in the past few years, and long straight shots were
desired to show off long lines of freight cars. After assessing
the space I had available, I decided on four separate loops,
with two separate yards for storing engines and cars. Scenery
would consist of mountains at one end and a large industrial
city at the other. An attempt was made, early on, to achieve
a flowing, natural look without too much clutter. Mountain
cuts were envisioned, as opposed to tunnels, to give more
train viewing opportunities. Larger engines and cars would
be run on the outer loops, with semi-scale and smaller
equipment occupying the innermost loop. A wide aisle in the
center would allow unfettered access to all the trackage.
technical Layout Aspects
Benchwork for the new pike started in February, 2003.
The layout would measure out at 9.5’ x 22.5’, a size I consider
to be just right for conveying a feel of expansiveness, yet
still being manageable. An average height of 36” was chosen
to balance the needs of tall scenery and relatively low ceil-