Ruth and Al Nickels went to the Miami Garden Railway Society tour that was held on September 28th this year. Despite some on and off rain, they managed to see some outstanding layouts. The first layout was by Danny & Dawn Wells, who are also members of our club. It's a very large layout that takes up most of their backyard. There are some nice water features and lots of trestles. Dawn did a great job with a Halloween theme and Danny showed off his numerous cartoon characters that he made on his 3D printers.
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The second layout on the tour was by Paul & Sheila Race. Paul is the editor of the Family Garden Trains newsletter at http://ww.familygardentrains.com. It was good to see him again, he had put on a clinic at the 2007 Busse display at the Holden Arboretum on how to build an elevated track. I assisted him with the construction and afterwards he gave me the wood from the track. It now has new life under my deck as my elevated Live steam track. All of his track is built on elevated benchwork, so he doesn't have to deal with frost heave. The best feature of the layout is the integral shed that the trains run in and out of. It gives him a rainproof area to store the trains and keep his electronics protected.
The third stop on the tour was at Gene Rahrig & Debby Kunselman's layout. It was a very large layout that was elevated so you could see things better. At the very back of his property, there was a 1:1 track running through. The crossbuck by his shed has a sensor that triggers it when the train passing by blows its' whistle. One of the feature of the layout was a 14 foot long tunnel. I wouldn't dream of trying something so long in case of a derailment or loose car, but he has a neat solution. He mounted a truck and coupler on the end of a long rod. When a car comes loose, he just puts the truck on the track and runs it into the tunnel to hook up with it.
The fourth stop on the tour was at the home of Bob & Diane Van Hook. It's a very long layout that is all elevated on the front side. One of the hallmarks of the layout is that the track is laid down on top of paving stones. The paving stones are laid on top of a tamped bed of gravel and bob says that he has no problems with frost heave.
The fifth stop on the tour was at the home of Wil Davis. He had a sloping yard that he had to deal with. He had the back corner excavated and a retaining wall put in the level things out. It brought things up to a comfortable to work with and for people to see. I like how he ran a bridge over to his shed, so he could store his trains. He also keeps his electronics in the shed, so they are protected from moisture. A door, fitted to the track, keeps the critters out.
The sixth and final stop on the tour was at Sam & Lori Griffith's. It was a work in progress that was only partially complete. The water feature was beautifully done, with a winding stream tumbling down into a pond with many plants and fish. There were many plants that helped to pull you into the scenes. There was a well done cog train running, with electric catenaries winding up and down the hill. There were custom made bridges and piers going through the layout and waiting to be connected to the covered area behind the mountain. I can't wait to see it completed at their layout tour next year.
