Something Big is Coming to the Upstate Model Railroaders Club!
... And by big we mean BIG TRAINS, as in G scale or “Garden Railroading”. These trains are twice the size of O Gauge and 4 times bigger than HO. Last year we received several large donations of G scale equipment and have since decided to display them by creating an indoor garden railroad. We will be transforming what was our storage/workshop room into a museum quality display. The layout will have 3 main lines starting with a Point to Point, with a double switch back climbing up the side of a mountain, next will be another point to point with a reversing loop at each end. The last will be a continuous loop around the layout. The display will feature automation using Ardunio Micro processors, including stage lighting, to replicate day to night transitions. We will also have a lake with real running water and a working waterfall. Come back to our G Scale page frequently to check out our progress!
Scenery plan for the new G scale room layout at the Upstate Model Railroaders. This layout will be approx 32ft x 18 ft. and have two levels and a real water feature.
G-Scale Layout
In 2017 the club received a large donation of G-scale trains, track and equipment, most of which had never been used. Our problem was what to do with it? Our current club location had no space available to add another operating layout to our roster.
Then in 2018, Forest Bevins, who was our President at the time, had an idea. He had an old snowmobile trailer that he wanted to outfit with a flat bed which could support track and trains. His Idea was to build a “traveling” layout.
Along with Vice President, Ken Wheeler, they embarked on a concept and presented it to the membership. Once they received approval and were given a budget to work with, they started in.
Here are some early photos of how the project began.
In 2017 the club received a large donation of G-scale trains, track and equipment, most of which had never been used. Our problem was what to do with it? Our current club location had no space available to add another operating layout to our roster.
Then in 2018, Forest Bevins, who was our President at the time, had an idea. He had an old snowmobile trailer that he wanted to outfit with a flat bed which could support track and trains. His Idea was to build a “traveling” layout.
Along with Vice President, Ken Wheeler, they embarked on a concept and presented it to the membership. Once they received approval and were given a budget to work with, they started in.
Here are some early photos of how the project began.
At our first public showing there was just some track and a few buildings, but the response was immediate. We drew a crowd. This concept was working well. It is designed to run on any AC power supply and also with the use of an inverter powered by the towing vehicle. Our big challenge was, could we run it in the local Holiday Parade? We began building a mountain/tunnel feature for one end that would have a “Santa’s Village” on the top, to fit in with the Christmas theme. We finished in time for the parade and the trains ran well while being pulled along the parade route! The Upstate Model Railroaders now have a mobile, traveling layout and we plan to take it to outdoor events as often as we can. The Mountain will be reworked so that a summer scene can be switched out with the winter scene and we can use it any time of the year.
