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Layouts - HO - Large Articles

1939 Action on PRR's Panhandle

A photo essay of the author's PRR-based layout.

50 Years of Excellence: Dick Elwell's Hoosac Valley

How Dick got started in model railroading. A run-through his layout. How he built the scenery for his layout. Includes a track plan of this 34' x 64' layout. A sidebar is includes on Dick's friendship with Bob Van Gelder of South River Modelworks.

60 Years at the Crescent City Model Railroad Club

The history, membership, and future plans of the club.

A Day at East LaSalle

This brief article describes, mostly through photos, how operations happen at East LaSalle on the North American Prototype Modelers' club layout. A small trackplan of this 59 by 74 foot layout is included, with a detailed track plan of the East LaSalle area.

Adding Operation to the Franklin & South Manchester

The article is about how George Selios is now seriously operating his layout. The author was charged with making the layout operable. In addition to fantastic photos, there is also a full track plan of the layout. Some changes had to be made to the layout to help its operators.

Andy Keeney's Nashville Road

An interview-style article with lots of photos and a track plan of this huge, three-level layout.

Bedford Falls and Fellsburg Yard on the expanded Franklin & South Manchester

Andy and Dave Frary visit George Selios' layout again to show the new expansion he has added. Includes many large photos, and a full track plan of the layout with the completed section and the planned further expansion.

Bill Aldrich's New New Haven

Bill's previous layout appeared in the Great Model Railroads 2000 magazine, but it was dismantled after that due to a move. The new layout is based on the same ideas. The author describes how Bill was able to get the new 35'x50', around-the-walls layout up and running in three years.

Bob Truax' Great Northern

This interview-style article covers how the owner got into model railroading, and how he built his 26'x30' layout. Includes photos and a track plan.

Bruce Chubb's Sunset Valley

An interview-style article with the owner of the layout, interspersed with many layout photos.

Bucket List Layout Visit

Visiting this 3,700 sqft layout in Cornville, Arizona (near Sedona) comes highly recommended.

Build for The Long Haul

The 19 by 33 foot Moose River Valley RR by Peter Eaton features a lot of switching, with three yards and many industries. The layout lasted 30 years, and was torn down in 2001, so that Peter could focus on building has large scale garden layout.

Burr Stewart's BN Along Puget Sound

The layout measures 30 feet by 33 feet and is set in 1973. It is an around-the-wall layout with a large L-shape peninsula. It also has sections that are double-decked..

Cass County Railroad

The author describes how he converted his existing layout from a summer setting to an autumn setting. Includes a sidebar on the author's move to Florida and how that impacted his layout design (includes the track plan).

CB&Q's Chicago & Aurora Division

The authors talk about how Mike raised the roof of his townhouse to be able to add a new floor for his layout. The layout has expanded over the years. Includes a track plan of the layout at that time (the layout has been expanded since then).

Coal Mines Along the East Broad Top

The author describes how he researched coal movements on the East Broad Top. The layout is 24' x 33', with some of it on two levels. It is set in the 1940s. There is lots of research material available on the EBT.

Columbia Steel's Priarie Works

This 24' x 29' layout features large steel and nickel production plants. Photography by Bob Werre.

Crowd Pleaser

Photography by Bob Werre. Gil documents the history of his Stony Creek & Western layout. In addition to many photos, the article also includes a full track plan. Operations is very important on this 29'x51' layout.

Dick Elwell's Hoosac Valley

This 34' x 64' layout recreates scenes in the Berkshire Mountains along the railroads of western Massachusetts and eastern New York. Includes many photos and a track plan.

East Meets West - Modeling the Rio Grande Southern and East Broad Top

This three-level 23' by 47' and 20' by 17' layout features two of the owner's favorite narrow gauge lines set in 1957. Includes a trackplan and many photos of this beautiful layout.

Ed Schampel's Weird & Wonderful Railroad

The freelanced layout measures 45 by 18-1/2 feet and takes up most of the basement. It features four loops that are connected. The layout allows for long trains to be run.

Erie's Mahoning Division in HO Scale

This is a visit to Joe Slanser's 28' x 29' basement layout. The main layout is in a 9' x 29' area, with a large double-track loop running through the rest of the space.

Esteban Martinez's BNSF

An interview-style article asking the owner about his layout. Includes the track plan and many photos of his layout.

Franklin & South Manchester Revisited... A Conversation with George

The author asks George Selios a number of questions about his layout. Includes many half-page photos.

Franklin!

George Selios has made it to the town of Franklin on his layout. Includes lots of great photos and a full trackplan of the layout to-date. George has switched to DCC and sound.

From Bathurst to Bayview

Three friends build this large layout in an office space to represent the Bayview Junction near Lake Ontario, Canada, including its wye. The article describes how they built it and includes many close-up and several overhead photos.

Gil Freitag's Stony Creek & Western

After a very long introduction by the magazine's editor, the author describes the construction and design philosophy of his layout, the fact that most structures are scratchbuilt, and how he integrated a narrow gauge line after the layout's construction had already begun. In additional to many layout photos (some in color), there is a complete track plan of the layout.

Going Modern on the New Jersey Division

The author models the Conrail Shared Assets Operations (CSAO) railroad. The article is mostly a photo-essay of scenes on his layout. It includes a full track plan, and a sidebar on his CTC panel.

Going Modern on the New Jersey Division Part 3

The author continues his journey on his layout with many photos. There is a sidebar on defect detectors, which contains prototype photos and how he modeled it on his layout.

Hard Coal and the Wyoming Division

This article focuses on a portion of Harold Werthwein's layout that features moving coal. The layout fills most of the 35 x 85-foot basement. Included with the article are lots of photos and a diagram of the part of the layout discussed in the text.

Harry Clark's Indian Creek Valley Ry.

This large layout literally fills the 22-foot by 50-foot basement with a massive, continuous scene. About a quarter of the layout is consumed by a turntable, engine house, and large yard. The scenery is absolutely stunning. The article includes a two-page fold-out. The layout features B&O steam-era.

Heavy Industry in HO-scale

The magazine revisits Dean Freytag's South Ridge Lines to see how it has progressed over 25 years. His layout is famous for the heavy steel industry he has modeled. Includes many close-up photos of some of his industries.

Here's What I'm Working On

This layout spans 40 by 18 feet, and is double-decked, which includes four-track mainline.

Introducing the Franklin & South Manchester

It took George Selios two years to get part of his layout to where it is shown in this issue. Includes many quality photos of the layout, a trackplan of the finished section, and where it fits into the whole plan.

It's The Little Things That Count

The author photographs some close-up detailed scenes on George Selios' layout.

Joe Visinthine's East Bluff Terminal

This interview-style article covers how the owner got into the hobby, why he chose to model what he does, and the specifics about the layout. Includes photos and a track plan (available as an online bonus).

John Allen's Gorre & Daphetid

A description of John's beautiful layout, with floor-to-ceiling scenery. Included are many color photos, and the track plan.

John Elwood's HO Empire

A beautifully-scenicked layout that measures 12' x 16'. It models the Olympic & Puget Sound Rwy. The layout features many Selios structures.

John Longhurst's CP Rail Manitoba & Minnesota Subdivision

This is a freelanced, double-decked 17 by 20 foot layout set in the Fall of 1995. The author describes the layout's construction and operations. Includes a track plan. You can see pictures of this layout on John's blog, and he has videos of the layout on YouTube.

John Russell's Steam-era Rock Island

This interview-style article covers how this real-world railroader got into model railroading, why he models what he does, and how he built his layout. Includes photos and an online track plan.

Keeping the Pennsy's Spirit Alive

This 24' by 32' layout represents the PRR's Middle Division in the late 1950s. It is a one-and-a-half level around-the-walls design with a long center peninsula. The author describes the building that houses the layout, how he built the layout, constructing the scenery, and operations. Includes photos and trackplan.

Ken McCorry's Conrail

Ken's layout is a massive 32'x102', and it is double-decked to boot. Includes many photos, track plans, and answers to questions posed to Ken.

L&N's Henderson Subdivision

The article features the operation-oriented, 35'x70' layout based on the L&N's Evansville to Nashville route. The track plan follows a very long linear design with yards at both ends, which wind up being next to each other. Includes a diagram on how the interior walls are built. Rick is the owner of Rix Products. The layout was featured in Allen Keller's Volume 9 video.

M&K Division of the B&O

An upside-down, reverse "F" shape, island-style layout that fills a 27' by 43' basement. The layout was designed as a railfan layout.

Metro Model Railroad Club

This article contains a description and many photos of the Metro Model Railroad Club's permanent layout in the senior citizens' condo development located in the former St. Alphonsus Hospital in Port Washington, Wisconsin. Includes general layout shape diagrams with photo indicators.

Midwest Lines

Rolf Plachter's UP-based HO-scale layout is described in this article. It includes many photos and track plan sketches, and a sidebar on brass rail. The integration of the backdrop with the openings to the other rooms is impressive.

Mike Armstrong's Rock Island

An interview-style article where the layout owner covers everything about his layout. Includes many photos, and a track plan of this double-decked, 30' x 40' layout. There is a sidebar about what "negative space" means in a model railroad.

Mike Mackey's Texas & St. Louis

The author interviews the owner of this HO/HOn3. Includes many photos and a track plan of the 19' x 39', W-shaped layout.

Modeling a Changing World

In this 23' by 27' layout, the author has attempted to stay up-to-date with the current times in his layout. Some structures have been modified over the years to reflect what happened to them in the real world over the years.

Modeling from the Prototype

The author describes his visit to Joe Heumphreus' 15'x20' Sierra Railway layout. Includes many photos of the layout and the equipment run on it, as well as a track plan.

Modeling from the Prototype

This article covers Bill Kachel's Pennsylvania Railroad Cosmopolitan Division. It measures 52' x 88' and is set in 1965. After the basic introduction, this article is a photo essay documenting the layout.

Modeling the Shamokin Yard and Railroad Facilities

The author shares information about how he is modeling the yard in his 50'x23' layout. Includes prototype and model photos. as well as the track plan.

Modeling the SPSF Meadow Subdivision

The author's layout is built around the theme of the SP and SF's merger being approved (it was rejected in the real world). The layout measures 34'x30', and the article includes a track plan and many photos.

Modeling the Yosemite Valley in HO Scale

A complete tour, with lots of photos, of the layout. Includes track plans and prototype photos.

More Mears' Madness

The old layout (featured in RMC June 1987) was moved from a 225 sqft space to a 652 sqft space. The layout is mostly around the wall with do duck-under bridges in a 40 by 26 foot space. The layout is private, but is being build with a group of 9 people. Has a sidebar on "Flangesaurus Rex", an in-place wheel cleaning section of track.

Morning at Mac Street

This article is a "railfan" view of Jim's layout, with lots of close-up photos. Includes a lower-level revision track plan.

My Visit to the Legendary Gorre & Daphetid

The author shares photos and his impressions as a visitor (and photographer and operator) of this famous layout. Bob's own Sn3 layout has some influences of John's layout in it, shown in a sidebar.

Once-a-year Layout

Why go through all the effort to make benchwork, when you can lay all the track on a wooden floor in a spare room. The author describes how he helps his son build a track plan that can have multiple trains running.

Operations on Gil Freitag's Stony Creek & Western

After an introduction to Gil Freitag and his layout, the author covers how Gil treats operating his layout. Includes a track plan of Gil's layout, and lots of photos of his fantastic models.

Peninsula Club's New HO Layout

This 30' by 60' layout was being built by the Peninsula Model Railroad Club at the San Mateo (California) County Fair Grounds. The handlaid track is code 70. The photos include ones of unfinished areas so that we can see their benchwork.

Prototype Scenes, Freelanced Layout

This 19' by 34' layout features the fictional merger of 5 eastern railroads set in eastern Pennsylvania in the late 1960s to early 1970s. The father and son team Bill and Steve Brown worked on this layout for over a decade.

Railfanning on the Feather River Route

This article describes Jim Pendley's 20'x46' layout which has as its focal point a replica of the Southern Pacific's Keddie Wye. The article includes lots of high-quality photos of the layout and the equipment running on the layout. There is also a link to video taken of the layout.

Railfanning the Great Lakes Western

A visit to the PebbleCreek Model Railroad Club in Goodyear, AZ. Includes many photos of the layout, and one of their outdoor G-scale layout.

Railroading Salt Creek Style

This club layout resided in Elmhurst, IL. It features four levels and mostly scratchbuilt structures and vast scenery. The club's history is covered.

Recreating Wisconsin's Past

This article describes the METRO Model Railroad Club of Port Washington, Wisconsin. The double-decked layout fits inside about 50 feet by 16 feet. Includes lots of photos but no trackplan.

Remembering the Gorre & Daphetid Part 1

Full article on the now famous John Allen layout, with lots of photos (both color and black&white) taken by John himself (he was a professional photographer). The article includes a trackplan of the final G&D. Shown are the floor-to-ceiling scenery. The article also includes John's first 4x8 layout (track plan and photos).

Remembering the Gorre & Daphetid Part 2

In this installment, the author covers the large yard at Great Divide and the extensive locomotive servicing facilities located there, to provide the nucleus for an overview of John Allen's approach to the hobby, including the clever use of mirrors. Many black-and-white and color photos are included in this article, including under-construction photos and a track plan.

Remembering the Gorre & Daphetid Part 3

This installment covers some of the more spectacularly-scenicked areas of the layout are examined in detail, and the lighting effects, including "black light", are reviewed. Includes both black-and-white and colored photos, includes some under-construction photos showing the placement of the mirrors.

Remembering the Gorre & Daphetid Part 5

This final installment includes a closer look at the towns of Andrews and Port. Includes black-and-white and color photos.

Rich Sorensen's Wabash Valley R.R.

The 38' by 30' layout spread over four rooms in Rich's basement models the eastern mountains in West Virginia.

River City Western Railroad

Beautiful photos accompany this article about the River City Modelers Club's 41'x48' two-level layout.

RMC Railfan Trip on the Gorre & Daphetid

The RMC Staff and private car No. 4, the Ramsey, recently headed west for a fan trip over portions of the spectacular G&D in the Akinbak Mountains area. This is a photo article, which photos shot by John Allen himself, of the layout following a train around. The photos are large (a number are full-page) black-and-white ones showing the large vistas on John's layout.

Rob Spangler's Western Pacific 8th Sub

Done in an interview style. The article includes a track plan, many photos, and the author's commentary sprinkle in as sidebars.

Rod Stewart's Three Rivers City

When I first saw Rod' layout in this issue, I was very impressed because it looks like something George Selios would do. It turns out he is one of Rod's idols. The article includes a track plan of this huge layout, and describes how Rod finds time to model, and how he is building his layout. Includes a side-bar on using LED lamps.

Ron Patzer's Erie-Lackawanna Railroad

The 27'x47' layout is set in the early-1970s. Includes many photos and a track plan of this double-decked layout.

Rugged Mountain Vistas On the HO scale Franklin & South Manchester Line

The magazine visits George Selios' layout for the sixth time, this time reporting on the completion of the layout with the recent addition of New England mountains. In addition to many large photos, this article also contains the current trackplan.

Selios - A Scrapbook

Good quality photos of scenes on George Selios' layout. The text describes a number of modeling and weathering techniques George uses for his scenes and structures. One interesting note is that George doesn't use an airbrush!

Siskiyou Line - 1 Retrospective

The author, having moved to a different state, reflects on his previous HO-scale, 1,100sqft layout. He covers his approach for dismantling this layout, over a period of many months, and how he stored everything in preparation for the move. Contains lots of photos of his now-former layout.

Southeast Division of the Milwaukee Road

A large, around the wall layout with several peninsulas for modeled industries in a 25 x 35 foot basement. The author writes about how he got into the hobby, why he models what he does, and describes the construction of the layout, his motive power, and operations.

Ted Hough's HO Canadian Pacific Ry.

A 12 by 28 rectangular, around-the-walls kind of layout featuring Canadian railroading. The layout was started by Ted's brother Don and later moved to Ted's basement. The layout had been featured in Model Railroader before.

The California Central Line

This club layout is housed in the Agnew depot. The article covers how the club was formed and progressed over the years, how they built the 12' by 55' layout, and describes their operations. Interior and exterior photos are included, as well as close-up layout photos and the full trackplan. Also includes a sidebar on how the club tested switch machines to determine which one would be used on the layout.

The Franklin & South Manchester 1 Year Later

Dave visits the layout a year after his last visit, to report on what George Selios has done on his layout. Includes many photos, a track plan diagram of the finished area, how George controls his trains, and the various scenery techniques he uses.

The Fremont & South Park R.R.

This article is a fictional story about how Lynn Draper's rendition of his railroad came about. It is accompanied by photos of his layout, a track plan, and how the layout was built using I-beams. The layout measures 27' x 12'.

The Gladstone & North Houghton

Fred Carlson's G&NH "G"-shaped layout models the Upper Peninsula of Michigan where iron ore is king. He is an MMR. The article contains lots of close-up photos, a description of how the layout was built, the motive power and rolling stock, and operations of the layout. A track plan is included. Another magazine article on the layout can be seen in the Railroad Model Craftsman February 1996 issue. Online photos for this layout are available at this Rocky Mountain NMRA Region web site.

The Granite Mountain Railway Part II

This installment covers the primary purpose of the layout: operations. Also covered are the Dynatrol command control, scenery design, and the added narrow gauge line.

The History of the Crescent Lines

A fictional story about how the layout owned by the Crescent City Model Railroad Club came to be. Includes several photo of the layout.

The Houston Society of Model Engineers

The club is building a layout in a vacant room in the Houston Belt & Terminal RR's Union Station building in downtown Houston, Texas.

The K10 Hobby Shop Layout

This interview-style article converses with the hobby shop owner, Ken Kroschwitz, and others involved in the project, about the history of the store and the layout. Includes photos and a track plan of this 60' x 81' layout.

The Kansas City Southern Lines

This is a 15' x 30' layout in Wilson Hunt's garage.

The Midwest Lines

This article describes the 33' by 52' layout built by Rolf Plachter.

The New Numark Valley

The author visits Bill Kupiec's layout. An article about Bill's previous layout appeared in the September 2001 issue of RMC. Bill moved and his new covers 15 by 42 feet. The freelanced, almost completed layout is modeled after railroads that moved anthracite from eastern Pennsylvania to New York City and New Jersey.

The Northwest Timberline

Many photos of the dual-deck layout built by Jim Lorbiecki. The U-shaped layout measures 8' x 17' x 24', with a peninsula that adds another 3.5' x 7'. Includes diagrams roughly indicating where the photos were taken.

The Northwest Timberline

This article describes of Jim Lorbiecki's double-decked, U-shaped logging-based layout. Includes lots of photos of the layout.

The Pasadena Model Railroad Club

This large layout was built in a refurbished bowling alley. It has some impressive specs.

The Penokee, Grandview & Winnipeg Railroad

This article is about Ralph Wehlitz' HO-scale that was started almost 50 years ago. This U-shaped layout measures 26' x 24' and is set on July 4th, 1963.

The PRR's Williamsport Division, circa 1935

Two railfan friends combine their efforts to build a large layout in one of their garages. It is a folded dog-bone design with a branch line and offline staging. See the layout on their Facebook page

The Quartz Creek & Union Pass

Bill Barr's U-shaped fictional railroad that takes most of a 22' by 22' outbuilding. The time period is the mid-1920s when Bill was a young boy.

The Raton Division

This 24' x 27' around-the-walls layout models the ATSF from Trinidad, Colorado to New Mexico border. It has beautiful desert scenery, and operation was important.

The Reading Lines

This point-to-point layout set in 1955 attempts to adhere to the Reading Railroad's operating standards. In additional to prototype information, this article covers construction, scenery, equipment, and operation.

The Ria Grand & Southwestern

14' by 25' island layout in a dedicated building with workshop, featuring Colorado prototype modeling.

The RvP Division

Rudi von Prittwitz built this 23 x 68 foot layout in his attic. It is based on the Southern Pacific from the 1950s onward. The layout features beautiful scenery, large yards, and tall mountains.

The Sierra Grande & Western RR

Two friends built a 16'x30' basement layout in the shape of an "M". Includes photos and a track plan.

The Stony Creek & Western RR

Gil describes how he developed his layout, and how he operates it. Includes many photos and a track plan.

The Tule Springs & Western... Revisited

The author revisits Frank Burke and Lynn Austin's two-car garage layout ten years after the first report. It describes the layout and the changes made in the last ten years. Includes lots of close-up photos of this nice layout.

The Tygard Valley Division

This article covers Tony's Western Maryland-based freelance layout, how it was constructed, how it is operated. Most of the article is a photo essay. The layout is in two rooms. Includes a track plan.

The Utah Colorado Western

The layout fills most of the 33' by 30' basement. The single track mainline represents a bridge line between Craig, CO and Heber, UT. In addition to the description of how the layout was built, the article covers operations and includes a track- and elevation plan.

The White Pines Model Railroad Club

The club has a building in an industrial complex in Bensenville, Illinois, which features a theater, a 25x32 foot N-scale layout, and a 45 x 85 foot HO-scale layout. Elmhurst Model Railroad Club.

Trackside Photos

This is a full-page photo of a scene on George Selios' layout.

Twenty-five Years on the Cat Mountain & Santa Fe

The author talks about how he built several layouts and improved his idea of what an ideal layout would be. He then covers his current "domino" modular design with minimal scenery. Includes lots of photos and several track plans, including the latest one.

Vic Kuklin's Modern-day Colorado Midland Ry.

This double-decked layout, in the owner's imagination, had the Colorado Midland Railway continuing on to August, 1960. A trackplan and photos of the very nicely-detailed layout accompany the article.

Visiting Fred Carlson's Gladstone & North Houghton

The article describes Fred's layout set in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, which measures 26' by 25' in an L-shape. It covers the layout's construction and design, operating, and plans for the future. Many photos and a track plan are also included

Visiting Larry Wright's Beaver Valley & Pennsylvania RR

The layout measures 35' by 55' in an around-the-walls style in Larry's basement. It is set in 1936 and features aspects of the Ma & Pa railroad if it had made it to western Pennsylvania. Includes many photos and a trackplan.

Visiting the Blackhawk Valley R.R.

This simple around-the-room layout fits in a 13' x 26' space. The photos in the article only cover a 2' x 8' area that is "finished". The track is all handlaid code 70 rail. The author enjoys rail-fanning his layout.

Where The East Broad Top Meets the Pennsy

This 24' x 26' layout has a double-track Pennsy mainline around the perimeter of the layout and the narrow gauge EBT in the center island. Includes a sidebar on how Don Shook makes debris for the top of his steam engine's tenders.