Grove City - suburb on the south side of Columbus
Dick Briggs, MMR » Pennsylvania
Scale: HO
Prototype Inspiration: Pennsylvania Railroad
Power System: DigiTrak - DCC
Dick models the Pittsburgh, Youngstown & Ashtabula branch of the Pennsy in northeast Ohio in HO-scale. The Pittsburgh, Youngstown & Ashtabula depicts the portion of the Pennsylvania Railroad from the coal and ore docks in Ashtabula harbor to the steel mills in the Niles and Youngstown, Ohio area. The layout is in a 12 foot by 120 foot U shaped room. The layout utilizes DigiTrak DCC for control of train movement over approximately 1000’ of mainline track. The majority of structures are, or will be, scratch built, craftsman kits or kit bashed including a waterfront with a “large” Great Lakes freight SS Harry Briggs in port. Many of the industries support the steel industry. Motive power is predominantly steam or first generation diesel powered. Scenery is well underway and is progressing weekly on this 12’ x 120’ DCC layout that is controlled by DigiTrak.
Bob Horner » Southern Railway
Scale: HO
Prototype Inspiration: Southern
Layout size: Approximately 15’ x 9’
Power System: Conventional DC
Walk in design with a double track mainline part of the way and single track main over the mountains. The layout is Appalachian railroading set in the 1950’s with steam to diesel transition era power and lots of hoppers. Bob has scratch-built his walk around throttle with memory.
Howdy Lamprecht » Olive Grove RR / Olive Grove Lumber Co.
Scale: HO
Prototype Inspiration:
Layout size Approximately 13’ x 27’
Power System: Conventional DC with blocks
The Olive Grove RR & Olive Grove Lumber Co. is a multi-level layout set in the Bitterroot Mountains of Montana. Shay locomotives power the trains up a switchback to reach the third level to haul the logs down to the award winning scratch built sawmills. Power is a conventional block system with DC throttles. The layout occupies an area of approximately 13’ x 27’.
Darrell & Judy Logan » Cheyenne, Denver & Laramie
Scale: HO
Prototype Inspiration: Union Pacific
Layout size: Approximately 15’ x 43’
Power System: Conventional DC
The Cheyenne, Denver & Laramie RR is based upon the UP and SP during the steam to diesel era. The layout is a double deck layout that features an 8’ helix, 2 staging yards, a complete steam and diesel engine facility. Backdrops are used extensively on the layout to help achieve depth. All of the city scenes achieve depth by using a minimum of two layers of backdrops. Most of the buildings on the layout are lighted and have varying levels of detailed interiors. Several Main Line Siding Structures, Fine Scale Miniatures and other craftsman kits are featured on the layout. The layout is approximately 15’ x 43’ and controlled by a conventional block system featuring fully operational signals, and walk-around throttles. Darrell likes long run with long trains with plenty
of big articulateds and some early generation diesels. Conversion to DCC is planned after the convention. Be sure to check out the “moon rise” and working fireworks. The layout was featured in Railroad Model Craftsman in 1992 and again in Scale Rails when the stars were added.
Howard Smith, MMR » Baltimore & Ohio–Sandpatch Division
Scale: HO
Prototype Inspiration: Baltimore & Ohio
Layout size: 12’ x 53’
Power System: DigiTrak
Howard’s Baltimore & Ohio is based on operations on “Sandpatch” between Cumberland, Maryland and Sandpatch, Pennsylvania. The layout is a double deck design that features a double track main line configured in a folded dog bone, a helix featuring 5 levels, and two staging yards that allow up to six trains to run at once. The layout is approximately 12’ x 53’, with operating signals, and was converted from DC to DigiTrak DCC. The scenery is nearly complete, with several scenes modeled after prototype locations. A mixture of steam and diesel motive power is used in the mid-fifties time frame. The layout features long trains and multiunit lash ups. Howard’s layout was featured in Rail Model Journal.
