Tour Details

Sunday October 26, 2025

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AM Tours

10am - 1pm

Tim Taylor’s Akron & Barberton Beltline

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This layout is designed for maximum switching and train assembling in a minimum space. It is basically a unidirectional twisted oval that runs around the room twice to complete one lap. It includes a main yard for putting trains together and several industries/destinations for drop-offs and pick-ups. Train composition and instructions are randomly generated by a custom computer program. The layout uses Bachmann DCC to run up to 10 trains at a time, which is more than adequate. Note: The layout contains structures but very little other scenery.

City: Hiram
Scale/Gauge: HO
Tim Taylor

PM Tours

1pm - 5pm

Robert Dodds’s Seaboard Atlantic Lines, Bessbrook Branch

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The layout is an around the walls of the basement with an additional yard in the garage. The benchwork is 24" wide apart from the return loops and aisles are 36" wide. The line to the rear of the benchwork rises up to 5" to the town of Rachel and the front track runs under Midway yard in the town of Rachel. The two main towns are in the return loops, Newry by the entrance to the room and Bessbrook directly in front of the entrance. Bessbrook also features a three foot wide peninsula with a passenger station on one side and a freight yard on the other. The town is elevated 12" above the station and forms an "L" shape along the peninsula and a perpendicular wall, or it will do when it is built. The inside of the return loop in Bessbrook has an engine terminal while Newry has several industries, three of whic are rail served. Other town on the layout are Camlough with a car ferry, Craigmore with a couple of industries, Towns Astra, and Carnbane are on a branch line and behind Bessbrook yard is the Mill Street switching district.

City: Acworth
Scale/Gauge: HO
Robert Dodds

Carter Dau’s CR TRAINS

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The original train layout, 4x8, was constructed as a fold up layout in 1978. The layout would grow to 8x12 in the 90's before expanding to fit a standard bedroom with the layout hugging the walls. After deconstructing the layout in 2001 to move to Georgia, only the 8x12 section would survive the move and 20+ years of storage. During the summer of 2023 the layout would again be placed horizontal and become the cornerstone of the new layout. Benchwork was completed on the newly expanded layout in September of 2023 and since then, over 300 feet of track has been laid. We have followed and visited the majority of layouts that have been on the Piedmont Pilgrimage over the past 10 years and are excited to finally welcome you to ours.

City: Kennesaw
Scale/Gauge: HO
Carter Dau

Howard Goodwin’s Great Cypress Lines

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City: Acworth
Scale/Gauge: HO
Howard Goodwin

Gary Fish’s Bigfish & Chattahoochee RR

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Lower level is double track main with 10 spurs. Full staging yard separate from layout room with 5 staging tracks. All layouts, top,bottom & staging yard are dcc/digitrax Top level should be operational by the end of October open house

City: Marietta
Scale/Gauge: HO
Gary Fish

Jamestown and Turtle Creek Interchange

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This is a freelance railroad located in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Maryland. It is a single track mainline with multiple passing sidings which services many industries and business along the way. Jamestown is the main town with Akersville being the mining community. The layout has a large yard which services both East and West bound trains and has a large servicing center. More to come as we progress toward the completion of the Jamestown and Turtle Creek Interchange. This railroad is a product of the members of the North Atlanta Rail Barrons (NARB)

City: Cartersville
Scale/Gauge: HO
James Travis

All Day Tours

10am - 5pm