AM Tours

10am - 1pm

William Hebb’s B&O Toledo Division Second Sub

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B&O Toledo Second Sub is built with MicroEngineering Code 40 track, hand laid code 40 turnouts from paper templates and some FastTracks fixtures. Mainline turnouts are #10 and the minimum curve radius is 24". Passing sidings are per the prototype with numerous interchanges with PRR, NYC and others. Construction is a mix of L-girder with plywood tops in dense areas, and spline elsewhere. All mainline turnouts are powered by Tortoises and controlled by the Dispatcher. CTC dispatching is done via CATS running on top of JMRI. Non mainline turnouts are thrown by slide switches which also power the frogs. Through Staging is based on a 15 track mechanized sliding staging table powered by a CDC stepper motor driven by an Arduino. All staging tracks are the same length and longer than the longest trains. Car forwarding is done with switch lists generated by JMRI Operations Pro. Digitrax DCC throughout using DCS240, DB150s, SE8Cs for signalling and BDL168s for detection. DCC Specialties PSXX are used for power management. Digitrax throttles and WiFi based throttles are used. At the time of this writing approximately 50% of mainline is operational along with a fully operational 15 track staging table.

City: Woodstock
Scale/Gauge: N
William Hebb

David Bennett’s Train Installations, LLC

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Train Installations builds layouts of all sizes and scales.

City: Woodstock
Scale/Gauge: other
David Bennett

PM Tours

1pm - 5pm

David Godwin’s Georgia, Alabama & Tennessee RR (GATRR)

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Georgia, Alabama & Tennessee (GAT) RR, MDR Division. Proto freelance Southeast railroads, primarily Central of Georgia with occasional Southern, Atlantic Coast Line, Seaboard Air Line and L&N. Trains operate connections to Chattanooga, Birmingham, Atlanta and Savannah using waybill car forwarding system. Running mix of freight and passenger trains. Over 300' of mainline with currently six sidings. Layout is under construction. Mainline benchwork is complete. Upper level (Chattanooga) and lower level (Savannah) staging completed. The mainline completed between both levels of staging. The branch line on the lower level is complete. Upper level has two staging areas. Layout design includes point to point mainline and two branch lines with 17' of staging for upper and lower levels. Layout also includes four reverse loops for turning trains and continuous operation (for open house dates). Layout also has a unique external helix.

City: Canton
Scale/Gauge: HO
David Godwin

Mark Bridgwater’s Canton Southern

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My freelanced HO layout is based on prototype design and operations, consisting of a modern Class-1 mainline interchanging with two modern short lines that were previously branch lines of the Class-1 railroad, sold to private investors and former railroad executives. Mainline track is owned by the BNSF, and per modern prototype practices, allows run-through traffic from many other railroads. The short lines reflect well-maintained and well-run railroads, complete with sharp looking unique paint schemes. The mainline will be fully signalled and dispatcher controlled, while the short lines will be ‘dark’ without signals, given only one train will be working the out-and-back line at any one time. Several large customers support the short lines, and many other industries will keep switching crews busy for most of the operating session. The layout occupies approximately 3,000 sf, including a crew lounge, dispatcher’s office and restroom. The single-track mainline is approximately 640 lineal feet including two helices, with multiple dispatcher-controlled passing sidings. The staging yard consists of 13 tracks, while the classification yard includes 8 tracks plus 3 arrival/departure tracks, supported by full engine servicing and maintenance facilities. Each short line is in excess of 200 lineal feet, serviced by dedicated morning and afternoon daily local turns. Interior basement walls and initial benchwork started while my home was under construction, with layout construction officially starting early in 2025. I’ve been helped immensely by my dedicated crew, for which I am truly grateful. We look forward to your visit during the Piedmont Pilgrimage to see our progress!

City: Canton
Scale/Gauge: HO
Mark Bridgwater