In response to a request to see more of the layout, this morning I put together a quick tour. We will follow a typical train around the layout, led by a Scale-Craft 4-6-0 with a Nason tender, two Schorr gondolas, a Schorr covered hopper, a Scale-Craft reefer (early version), a scratch built outside braced boxcar, a Scale-Craft tank car, a tank car rebuilt from an Athearn HO tank car, and a Lionel caboose.

Our first stop is an overall view of the corner with the farm. A short train is in the passing siding, rebuilt from HO models (SW-1—AHM, flat and tank car—Tyco, caboose—Mantua).

Next we have another overall view. This shows the “bridge” which crosses the open end of this C shaped layout. It has two turnouts on it, one that leads from the passing siding and the other that leads to a staging track. Also you can see the display area. The models on the bottom three shelves are all usable on the layout, those higher up are interesting models from the collection.

This is a close up of the staging area. It will hold five cars; right now the S-C doodlebug is waiting to make a run. The mainline behind the hill also functions as a staging area, I can juggle as many as three trains around the layout at one time.

The yard area is not done. This is actually the oldest part of the layout, the central part of this view was originally a 2’X4’ module, and ties here were laid back in 1978. The layout took its present shape in 1980 in my parent’s basement. The passing siding was added after the layout arrived in Arizona.

Finally we get over to the town area which is also not done. I really would like to get this scenery in shape sometime soon, perhaps later this summer.

UPDATE: As this remains a popular post, keep in mind that the photos in this article are from 2008, and the layout has moved closer to complete scenery.