Jim Davis’s Tar Heel Western

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Modeling western NC in the transition era. Using helpers on the main line and branch line. 4+ % grade on branch line. Built for operations. I have a Bible based theme to my layout. Such as customers like Exodus Sandal Company, Elijah’s Chariot and Buggy Company, and Jacob’s Ladders.

Jerry Michnewicz’s Michigan & New York Central Railroad.

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A must see layout! I have a lot of scratch built things from buildings to rolling stock to road signals and grade crossings. A duck under to the center of the layout or a walk around on the outside of the layout is best for more viewing and provides a lot of space for a lot of people. The Ford Motor Coal Dock has a ton of interesting detail with a lake freighter at dock side unloading coal. Detroit, Dearborn, Wayne, Dexter all have a spot on the layout. Over Dearborn, with banner in tow, is a bi-plane actually flying the full length of the southern part of Dearborn. A full moon (light globe) provides enough light for viewers to get a night time view of operations on the M&NYC. The Mercury and Wolverine passenger trains run daily out of the Michigan Central Depot. I use pine bark for rock formations and for some of my yard ballast I use dirt collected from the street at curb side. I have all my electric poles on the layout wired (thread or stretch line) and all street lights working. A very populated layout with people, cars, trucks and trees. I make what I can, kit bash if I have to and make it fit when it's necessary. If you pass my layout up you have really missed a very interesting visit.

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My wife (who passed away in 2019) was the main influence on the design of my layout (and boy was she sorry!). It features 4 layers including a 6’ diameter 2 track Helix (her requirement), 2 12’ suspension bridges and a 4’ arch bridge. It has ceramic and plastic buildings, lots of lights, and multi-levels (also her requirement). Most lights and accessories can be operated by visitors. The layout contains about 1000’ of track and can run 14 trains and a trolley on dedicated loops. The major loops include the dual 110' long mainline using Gargraves track, and the 202' helix loop with Lionel track. The most common description I've heard from visitors is that it is a fun layout. After the virtual layout tour was recorded, I renamed my layout slightly after my grandson. The name is now "North Pole, Tinseltown, Sabastian, and Bigville" instead of "North Pole, Tinseltown South, and Bigville". The town of Sabastian is now the 'Little Town with the Big Future'.

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The UC&W Railroad is an operations-oriented, modern-day, Class 1 railroad. The railroad interacts with CP, CN, CSX, UP, BNSF, and VIA Rail. The railroad owns NS and all Amtrak operations in North America except for the NE Corridor and the Amtrak lines in California. The modeled portion of the railroad features sections between Salt Lake City, Utah and Seattle, Washington. Operations feature mainline freight, commuter rail, main-line passenger, steam excursions, and local freight. Scenery is about 70% complete, with the major remaining features including two town areas, an industrial area, and select industries. Visitors will notice that the layout owner has a sense of humor.