AM Tours

10am - 2pm

Weiss Freelance South East RR

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This is an N-scale Atlas Code 55 layout. It's freelance so it runs from the mountains to the farmland in the south. Most trains or NS and I wanted to make sure the passage cars had no problem with the turns.

City: Cumming
Scale/Gauge: N
Mark Weiss

Crew Heimer’s Sand Patch Lines

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Under construction - no significant scenery yet. Steam to Diesel transition. Passenger trains (primarily diesel) add steam helpers at Cumberland station stop; freight trains add helpers at Hyndman. Sidings for 25 car freight trains. Two levels of folded dogbones. Ten track staging yard. Come see the behind the scenes look at a railroad before it is covered in scenery. Six foot roll out section with multiple main lines for access to furnace and hot water heater. Multiple hidden lines attached to wall brackets. Bowl-shaped grades in yard to aid in cars rolling after being cut-off during switching. Main line turnouts #8 for crossovers, #6/7 other mainline double ended tracks, #4,#2.5 for industry spur stub tracks.

City: Atlanta
Scale/Gauge: HO
Crew Heimer

Philip and Linda Stead’s D&RGW Alamosa Chama Subdivision

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Alamosa Colorado to Chama New Mexico mainline modeled in On3 and P48 dual gauge during September 1949. Photos on Youtube. Search Phil Stead

City: Ball Ground
Scale/Gauge: On3
Philip Stead

While visiting our home layout tours in the Ball Ground and Talking Rock area, consider stopping in to see the two model train layouts on display at the Tate Depot, in Tate, GA. They will be open 10:00am-2:00pm. For more information, contact Ben Read at bensread@aol.com, or call Ben at 770-530-7565. See also the club's website, https://tatedepottrainsociety.org. Also, consider stopping in to see the model train layout of the TriState Model Railroaders at the Mineral Bluff Depot, in Mineral Bluff, GA. They will be open 11:00am-3:00pm. For more information, visit their website using the link, https://tsmri.org. Both are free!

Steve Austin’s Elkhorn Iron & Timber Co RR (EL&T)

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The El&TCo. is a 1947-era backwoods railroad featuring logging, sawmilling, steel manufacturing, coal mining, and many of the ancillary industries necessary to make this all work. The scenery and scratch-built structures and motive power are my specialties. The heavily wooded sawmill peninsula includes an engine servicing facility, river, log dump and sawmill. The scratch-built sawmill is 12" x 32" x 15" high. The mill complex includes the powerhouse, slash burner, conveyors, lumber stacks, water tanks, and the small village. The steel mill complex covers an area 30" deep by almost 17 feet long. The highly detailed harbor scene, including numerous boats and small freighters, at the layout entrance, covers an area 7' by 8' (see the photo section!). The layout has been featured in the Narrow Gauge and Shortline Gazette and the On30 Annual as well as Scale Rails and Model Railroader. My scratch-built On30 Shay won lst place at the Piedmont Division and the Southeast Region train shows in 2000; it won 2nd place at the NMRA National at San Jose with 113 points. The 336 sq ft Elkhorn expansion features a fully automated interchange with the original 560 sq ft purpose-built layout room. Both spaces feature double deck railroading. The expansion includes several waterfront scenes. The approximately 7'x3` Upatoi Creek includes a boatyard scene with a shrimp boat in for repairs and maintenance as well as an automated shuttle train serving the numerous scratch-built extensively kit-bashed enterprises along the Creek. A 6'x3' rail-served riverfront scene includes extensive docking facilities capable of handling 4-6 craft simultaneously. The expansion spotlights a highly detailed (they are all highly detailed ) 2'x4' welding shop, welding services and scrap metal salvage complex. A well-detailed 3-stall engine house with turntable and machine shop is the next planned construction project.

City: Talking Rock
Scale/Gauge: On30
Steve Austin

While visiting our home layout tours in the Ball Ground and Talking Rock area, consider stopping in to see the two model train layouts on display at the Tate Depot, in Tate, GA. They will be open 10:00am-2:00pm. For more information, contact Ben Read at bensread@aol.com, or call Ben at 770-530-7565. See also the club's website, https://tatedepottrainsociety.org. Also, consider stopping in to see the model train layout of the TriState Model Railroaders at the Mineral Bluff Depot, in Mineral Bluff, GA. They will be open 11:00am-3:00pm. For more information, visit their website using the link, https://tsmri.org. Both are free!

PM Tours

1pm - 5pm

David Bennett’s Decktown and Bigstump RR

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The RR is an imaginary branch line of the White Pass and Yukon. Trains run through a woodland setting on the side of my yard along a single track mainline with a reverse loop at each end. The track crosses three trestles and three bridges and goes through two tunnels.

City: Woodstock
Scale/Gauge: G
David Bennett

James and Sally Bando’s Grand Western Mining Company Railroad

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1890's mining district in Colorado.

City: Woodstock
Scale/Gauge: G
Sally Bando

resized_Bando-Grand-Western-Mining-Co-RR-circa-1910-live-steam-Shay-loco-IMG_4556.jpg

Russ Bundy’s Cedar Creek

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Cedar Creek is a small mountain community where you would go (if you were 1:32 scale) to take a weekend vacation. We have an Inn with a restaurant, or there are several cabins for rent. The main attractions are equestrian activities with guided hours tours available, fishing in the trout stream but the bears get first choice by the river, hiking, and camping.

City: Marietta
Scale/Gauge: G
Russell Bundy

Stefan Bartelski’s The Blue Ridge Line

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A representation of the Etowah Old line, from Elizabeth (Marietta) to Etowah. Set in October 1986, just before CSX transferred operations to the Georgia Northeastern RR. It also includes the Marble Hill branch line, which the Georgia Marble Railroad operated to bring marble from the Tate Quarry and mine in the valley. Currently all of the benchwork is completed, except foam layers, with about 30% of track laid.

City: Cumming
Scale/Gauge: HO
Stefan Bartelski