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The HO NOSTALGIA TRIP is now a memory. The layout and a few of the buildings were sold to a club in West Virginia. The locomotives and rolling stock were sold to a collector friend and we have progressed with the construction of our new layout in O scale.
We have posted some new photos of the O scale layout. The layout is open for visitors but you must call ahead to be sure we are here. With the model sailing ship Surprise and a new RV trailer we have begun enjoying going to Ceder Creek Lake near Stanford KY as well as a few side trips to other lakes, so to be sure we are here you need to call or write ahead.
Renee has built a rather large diorama of her nostalgia of Waite Park MN using the scratch built structures she made for the HO layout. It is 4X18 feet and she has done all of the work on it except for the tables which I built for her. She has done all the details, all the painting and scenery and it is available for viewing at any time to any who want to travel over in this general direction.
We want to thank everyone who have visited the layout or this web site. We have thoroughly enjoyed all the folks who have visited or written to us over the years.
In front of us is a section of buildings from Renee's childhood at Waite Park Minnesota, the Catholic church, St. Joseph school and several houses from other parts of the country. All the buildings shown in this photo were scratch built by Renee.
We used to haul this whole layout around the country to train shows and NMRA conventions, but when it became too much to handle, we retired it. We were going to piece it out and sell the equipment and start a new hobby, but several fellows I work with told us we needed to do a barn raising and put the layout in a new permanent home. Thanks to the help of a local contractor who loaned us some heavy equipment to place the foundation and floor, as well as help with the concrete finishing, we were able to have a barn raising on a nice Saturday in April of 2002, and the building was under trusses late that afternoon. The one thing that we have that no other modeler has been able to do is a video from Allen Keller "Great Model Railroads" volume 31, filmed OUTSIDE.
The layout was featured on DIY Television, a cable network of Do It Yourself and it is rerun from time to time. The program is called "Working on the Railroad" and it has some very nice layouts on display.
The layout was featured on Kentucky Education Television on Kentucky Life with Dave Shuffett on on 25 March 2006, and we believe that Dave did a wonderful job on his filming and editing. We are very blessed.
Over the last few months I have been building something new, at least new to me. A square rigged sailing ship, HMS Surprise. I have attached photos of this extremely well done kit as we worked on it. The ship is manufactured by Steel, Chapman, & Hutchenson of Palo Alto California and it has been a great kit to build. We have had some sea trials as well and those photos are located on a page below First Launching.
Mark Jordan's 1917 Frick Eclipse under steam. Mark's engine was also featured on the KET program during our open house in July of 06.
When we are not running the 1917 Frick Eclipse, I mow the grass. This was not my fault, (In my best whining liberal voice) This mower eating pond just reached up and grabbed it and splat. Good thing we have a 1949 Willys to pull it out with.
When the Willys gets stuck by some Jeep eating trees, it is a good thing we have a neighbor with a tractor, and of course a multi talented wife who can drive it. Now if I could just get her to stop telling everyone about it, it might die down some.
The year is 1954, and extra 1017 West is pounding past the Lake Minnewaska depot. A photographer is catching the engine for posterity, for the great steam locomotive would soon be gone, replaced by the growling diesel electric, and along with them the romance of railroading. It is a long gone era, one that is cherished among those who remember the steam locomotive, the smells, the sounds, and the work they did. |
