Santa Fe

Layout Details

Santa Fe - U.P. - S.P. RR. HO 12' by 32' Powered by either NCE DCC or DC. This dog bone layout with 190' of double track mainline is beautifully done . Irv is a true Craftsman and his models are very well done . His rolling stock is weathered to perfection. He is modeling high desert scenery complete with grain elevators and small town USA . The scenery is 70 % complete. Open on Thursday and Friday 1 to 5 pm, IRV BATTEN is 18 minutes from hotel
Garden RR - H & R Train Store has a nice garden RR behind their shop. They will be running all sorts of equipment for you and you can also visit the hobby store at the same time. Open from 1 to 5 pm Thur., Fri. & Sat. Only 15 minutes south of the hotel
The Butte Line. This HO layout occupies two rooms approximately 22' by 22' and 16' by 22'. Bob Johnson is modeling the UP Montana branch line in the 1950's from Pocatello, Idaho 255 miles to Silver Bow, Montana. The motive power is steam 2-8-8-0s' and 4-6-6-4s' along with first generation diesels. The scenery is great including a striking mountain vista that has the trains snaking though. (40% done) There are large radius curves to create realistic steam train operations and long distance between towns separated by scenic vistas. This layout is one of the better ones you will ever see in regards to the construction quality and layout design. Bob Johnson is 20 minutes from hotel, Open from 1 to 5 pm Friday & Saturday
The Ajax Mining and Lumber Co. is in a 13' x 28' foot room. Tony currently has 99% of the track is in, wired and operable. I use the NCE DCC system. I have sound in one loco and by the end of the year I will have sound in 3 others. The scenery is 70% complete. All of the fascia is up, painted and done. I work every day on the scenery and structures. There are 2 areas that the scenery is 100% done. The period is post Depression, around the room with a center peninsula. There is over 100 running feet of track, mostly hand laid. The track traverses a mountainous range and goes down to the 4' and a half foot by 22' foot center peninsula where there is a town, engine service facilities and two wharf scenes. TONY MAZZULLO driving time : 50 minutes go see what he has done. Well worth the drive & only 15 minutes from Larry Cox's beautiful RR.
James Gore's Jemez (pronounced “Haymez”) & Rio Grande, On30, The Chili Line, running from Antonito, Colorado, to Santa Fe, New Mexico, was so nicknamed because of the great numbers of chili ristras hanging off buildings, especially during the Autumn, all along the route. It was abandoned in 1941 but remains an interesting portion of the D&RGW to model. Having grown up in Los Alamos in the 1950's and walking the old Chili Line roadbed with my dad around Embudo (one of our favorite fishing spots), I have always been fascinated with narrow gauge and especially that line I never got to see run. Having recently moved to Florida, I took the opportunity to look into the opportunities presented by On30. After reading Charlie Getz’s recent article quashing rumors of a secret Chili Line service to Los Alamos’ Manhattan Project during World War II (Narrow Gauge and Shortline Gazette, March/April, 2007), I was inspired to justify narrow gauge into the Jemez mountains around Los Alamos. So, my On30 Jemez & Rio Grande is a shortline, running from Espanola, New Mexico, into the Jemez Mountains, near Los Alamos, in 1951, where a small amount of logging operations compete with the standard-gauge Santa Fe Northwestern. The layout, still under construction, occupies an enclosed 2-car garage and an area of approximately 16’ x 12’. The track is all Peco with a minimum radius of 24”. I use a Digitrax DCC system and am slowly incorporating car-card operation. About half of the structures are kitbashed or scratchbuilt, the most interesting feature being the adobe buildings. James Gore
Dayton & Southern RR This 12 by 20 foot HO RR. Welcome Aboard, to a slice of America as it existed in the late 1940's into the fifties. The Dayton & Southern railroad was chartered in 1991 by Dave Sellers. Follow its single track main line as we travel from Dayton, Ohio west to the Ohio river. This HO layout encompasses over 30 feet of both code 83 and 100 mainline filling two bedrooms, hallway, closet, and a laundry room. The layout operates using an NCE dcc system, contains over 700 people scattered throughout its many well detailed scenes. Dave is well known in this area as well as at recent NMRA events for his detailed and scratch built structures. Dave is a master at
weathering and is always happy to share his secrets and technique. Several recent visitors have compared this layout to be in the caliber of the better known Franklin and South Manchester. If you are looking for one layout to visit, then this should be it. Dave Sellers is Only 10 minutes from the hotel
This home layout on tour includes two for the price of one! The first is a real beauty called Hither, Thither, & Yawn RR . Don't be fooled by the name . This HOn3 RR is filled with great structures, including a fantastic town scene. There are sweeping scenic vistas and a tall Malcolm Furlow type bridge . In fact the RR is based on the San Juan Central with a large section added on to it! Scenery is 100% complete. In the next room is a beautiful HO layout that features FSM kits built to perfection. Scenery is 50%.. Ted Van Pelt is another 30 minutes south of here. Jim Beatty MMR, Open Fri & Sat. 1to5 pm Driving time 1 hour
Suncoast Model RR Club, This club features three scales, HO, N, and On30. The large 1950's era HO has a full size city and a fantastic industrial yard. Also there is a great Lighthouse scene complete with a fishing village. There are rivers and Dams and some of the best scratch built bridges you will ever see! The scenery is beautiful and 100% done. The N scale features Mountains, Rivers ,Logging, Great Bridges and a new city section that should be close to being done by the time the convention opens. Scenery is 85%.
The On30 is modular and the second module is under construction. In short, you will see one of the best looking clubs in the nation. Soon to be featured in MR. Suncoast Model RR Club is 17 minutes from the hotel. Open Thur. Fri. and Sat. 1 to 5 p. m.
Kevin Timmons This garden RR has tunnels, a fish pond and other features. Kevin Timmons is 50 minutes drive time. Open Fri. & Sat. 1 to 5 pm
Bob Spaulding has built a beautiful S scale railroad. It is 20 by 24 ft. set in the Colorado Rockies . The railroad is powered by digtrax dcc and fetchers a scratch built turntable that works, a viaduct that took 6 months to build, and a built from scratch engine house. Scenery is 90% done and has numerous bridges and structures from all the S scale manufacturers which are beautiful done. Track work is beautiful and Engines have sound and run smoothly. This is one you don't want to miss! Bob Spaulding is Open Thursday, Friday, And Saturday 10 to 6 pm. 12 minutes from the hotel
Royal Bruce This 3 by 14 ft. HO-HOn3 RR is set in the 1930's West Virginia Mts. and is a switchback RR. It serves mining and logging industries. Scenery is nice and is 70% done. Royal is only 10 minutes from Jim Beatty and is worth the stop. Royal Bruce, Driving time from Hotel : 55 minutes
Manatee Live Steamers, This "layout" is located in the woods. It features bridges, tunnels, and a ride through the swamp which is way too cool . They are holding their Winter Meet from Sun., Feb. 22nd to Wed. the 25th. They might be running on Thur. also, but call first to make sure! Manatee Live Steamers are about 1 hour from the hotel, Jim Beatty's layout is 25 minutes further southeast.
Largo Live Steamers, At the corner of Seminole Blvd. & East Bay Dr. ( Largo central Park ) (727) 585-9835
This beautiful 7 & half inch gauge runs though the lush grounds of Largo central Park. The mainline is 1.5 miles long & has numerous passing sidings. They run lots of steam & diesel. They will be running steam for us Sat. only from Noon to 5 pm .Only 18 minutes from the hotel .Directions : take US 19 south to East bay Drive & turn right. Go to Central Park drive & Turn left. ( about 4 miles ). Go to second right past Performing arts Bldg. Straight ahead is the Club.. Largo will be running live steam for us. It features a tunnel and a trestle over a fish pond. Not to be missed. Largo Live Steamers are open Sat. 12 to 5 pm Only 20 minutes from the hotel
HO/Hon3 Sierra Railroad, Pickering Lumber Company and West Side Lumber Company prototypes with logging and short line extras. Layout is in its own 30' X 60' Air-conditioned building. Layout is 16' X 20' with many modules yet to be installed. Tim is an excellent structure builder & there are numerous building on his layout. Many of them have complete interiors. There is also a large mountain area complete with mining & logging. Plus there is also a beautiful town area & engine yard facility. We are sure you will enjoy his layout. Tim Godfrey is 10 minutes from hotel
The Oyster Harbor Railway & Navigation Co. is a switching layout in On30 the track plan is taken from a design, that has been widely viewed on the internet, by Lennard Elg.

Based somewhere in the Pacific North West it is a rather run down short line trying to make it's way in the early 1920's More and more of the revenue now comes from the trackage rights provided to Coal Creek Lumber Co. This company has numerous timber contracts and many landings and spurs into the woods. The logs are brought to the landing at Oyster Harbor to be made into rafts to be floated down the coast to supply a large sawmill.

My wife and I are 'Snow Birds', so the short amount of time we are here dictated the construction. We have recently moved into a condominium in Ohio and I have started a similar style of layout up there. After being in HOn3 for many years, and one of the original members of the 'Mini Bunch'from central Ohio, I have been re-energized by On30. TERRY HANSLEY, driving time : 15 minutes