Double Deck Layouts 7-DVD Set

7-DVD Set: Double Deck Layouts

Often the solution to limited space is looking up…adding another level to your railroad. This can be a daunting undertaking, but these videos will give you some idea of what others have been able to do with multi-deck layouts. 414 minutes.

Doug Geiger’s Granite Mountain Railway – 60 minutes

Doug Geiger’s Granite Mountain Railway is a three level HO layout made for operation. Doug has modeled an East-West bridge route thru the Colorado Rockies to Washington state with 3% grades in some places. That means helpers on his long freights with diesel and steam power. A helix is the trick that makes a multi-level railroad a reality, and Doug will describe some of his methods for building the 3 on the Granite Mountain. Doug will also show you how to reduce derailments with a few modifications to common boxcar kits. A railroad that fills a 43X23 foot basement needs lots of pine trees, so Doug will share his method of making them from jute and wire. You’ll enjoy the work of this master layout planner/builder and his Great Model Railroad, the Granite Mountain Railway.

The Yosemite Valley of Jack Burgess – 59 minutes

The Yosemite Valley of Jack Burgess is as close as you can get to having a time machine that will transport you back to August of 1939. Jack is a stickler for historical accuracy not only as it relates to railroad equipment, but to life in general. Everything on this multi-level HO layout–the signs, the structures, the people and the automobiles–is stamped with authenticity. With this detailed knowledge, his structures and rolling stock are scratchbuilt to exact dimensions. The YV duplicates the passenger, logging and mining operations that made the railroad possible. The California Golden Hills are Jack’s specialty and he’ll show you how he gets the right look for his scenery. The Yosemite Valley is a Great Model Railroad because of Jack’s unswerving devotion to accuracy and high modeling standards.

Monroe Stewart’s Hooch Junction Railroad! – 59 minutes

Monroe Stewart’s Hooch Junction is an Appalachian coal hauler with a special emphasis on water scenes. The N scale layout features CSX and Norfolk Southern trains paralleling each other from east coast harbors to the coal fields. Even though the layout has about 2,000 feet of track, the fabulous scenery is not crowded. The layout is never static, more water scenes seem to pop up in the aisles and even structures are updated with urban renewal. Monroe will show you about painting and ballasting track, using common household items for details, planning structures, and painting realistic brick buildings. Monroe believes anybody can build a large dream layout like the Hooch Junction if they take the time to learn from others.

Cal Winter’s Florida East Coast Key West Extension – 59 minutes

Cal Winter’s Florida East Coast Key West Extension is facing bankruptcy as the depression spreads. But in January of 1930 the road is enjoying enough tourist and freight traffic to and from Cuba to keep the company afloat. This HO scale re-creation of the FEC was built by Railserve’s Ross and Gail Allen and represents the line from Miami to Key West. The route required 33 bridges, fills and lots of water to preserve the memory of the prototype’s engineering marvel. This double decked layout fits into a single car garage with the staging yard in another garage. The railroad is operated by 10 to 12 people using timetables and consists from January of 1930. Cal tries to duplicate the actual movement of freight between the Keys and Miami. The Florida East Coast is a thoroughly researched effort to keep the memory alive of an unusual railroad that existed mainly for the winter produce and tourist season. Even though Cal is preserving the FEC in miniature he says a model is at best a representation of real life. You will learn about lighting a double deck layout, grinding waves into seawater, casting piers, and removing factory lettering from cars.

Stephen & Cinthia Priest Emporia Subdivision of the Santa Fe – 59 minutes

“The Santa Fe Emporia Subdivision” of Stephen and Cinthia Priest is what you might expect from these two authorities on this railroad. This 40×25 foot HO railroad is double decked using a constant grade instead of a helix to change elevation. Also the staging yards are not hidden but scenicked. This adds to the railfan experience of operating the railroad.. The Emporia Sub runs through Kansas in 1978. Stephen will show you how to install switch motors, build double deck benchwork, build a control panel and detail your track.

Harold Werthwein’s Erie Railroad Wyoming Division – 59 minutes

Harold Werthwein’s Erie Railroad is one of the largest HO layouts in the country at 85X30 feet. Now he has added a new coal route above the original layout that we documented in Vol. 18. It’s the Wyoming Div. with three coal branches. In this show we follow the new line from Port Jervis to Lackawaxen, where it interchanges with the Erie’s Delaware Division. Harold enjoys modeling coal mines and coal trains using the original Erie timetables. He will show you his coal mines, how to use prototype paperwork, block trains for operation and operate less than carload freights.

Mike Burgett’s Chesapeake & Ohio – 59 minutes

“Mike Burgett’s Chesapeake & Ohio” runs along the James River Valley in Virginia in 1965. This HO double deck railroad was built with the prototype always as a guide. The layout is a coal hauling line yet it has no coal mines. The black diamonds are brought to the Clifton Forge Division from subdivisions that serve the mines. Mike is a professional railroader who knows railroad practices firsthand. He is Signal Supervisor for the Canadian National. He has studied the C&O since he was a child and had as his mentor a retired Signal Supervisor for the C&O. Mike built the railroad’s signal system and CTC machine before he even built the railroad. His knowledge of the placement and operation of signals has been applied to this layout and has kept the whole system relatively simple yet prototypical. Even though he works full time for a railroad, he loves to operate his model railroad as if it were a real railroad. However, he has not short changed the quality of his scenery, rolling stock or locomotives. The mountains, rock castings and trees are all beautifully done.
The layout features a 600 foot mainline in a 24×36 foot basement with two decks. It’s based on stories and research that he has gathered from current and retired railroaders and supports his belief that the prototype has the answers for model railroads. The layout is a time machine for Mike and his friends when they run 8 to10 trains during their operating sessions. Mike will show you how to operate an OS Section, install signal details and place right of way phone poles.