This layout is not owned by me but I am saddened by the fact that it's owners are closing it down after its last Halloween runs this year. It's cargo is people. It claims to be the largest 1/4 scale railroad in the world. All of its rolling stock was made by one man and his Trucking repair company crew. His children inherited the railroad after his passing a few years ago. They have been struggling to maintain and profit from its riders so they are closing down. I will share more pictures of it soon.
Pardon this aside as much of the sorrow comes from the fact that my wife and I have been going one or two times a year for sixteen years, since my oldest daughter was about 5 years old she is now 21 years old. One of the gentleman's daughters managed the operation with him, and has a daughter, Melanie with Downs Syndrome. She and my daughter, Marisa, who has Cerebral Palsy, became instant friends. Last night I witnessed their true friendship one last time as they hugged each other. Melanie is 22. It was beautiful you see because many of these children never get the chance to establish this annual type of friendship, like visiting far away cousins once in a while at an a usual event.
Anyway, there is al long covered passenger siding tangent to a reversing loop surrounding the parking lot where customers get on the train. The train enters the valley on a slope flattening into the basin of the valley where the layout exists.
There are sidings and yards, crossings and bridges, signals and structures and even a roundhouse that the train passes on the way down. There is even an elevated dual track crossing! In itself it is a cool idea, the track is roundly round with a park in the valley. In the summertime one can ride the train down with a picnic in hand, enjoy swing sets, petal go carts, basketball courts, badminton courts, and picnic tables as the next train came down. Sadly, I recall few riders over the years.
I found the rolling stock to be amazing. It does not appear that any of the components were commercial in the sense that everything, and I mean everything appears to hand built. One summer I studied the couplers, all cast in miniature, fully operational like the 1:1. The trucks are weldements, built up by plasma cut plate stock with sprung axle bearings. Many of the cars are faithful to their prototype; hoppers, tank cars carrying diesel fuel for the locos, long mill gons and TOFC flats are of course used to carry folks. The cars were all,painted new and allowed to weather and rust just like the real ones.
Last night they were running an ABA set of hand built PA units with a second train being pulled by a cow and calf and another cow of I think SW1200's.
On one of its last nights, it was great to see after 33 years of operation, a long line of thousands, waiting for about an hour to ride. Melanie's mother was both proud and profoundly sad as we hugged; she had always been kind to us, and greeted us with a smile and open arms when we were there,
More information to follow, I just had to get this off my chest this morning. Although this seems like more of a Crew Lounge topic, please don't move it as I will be documenting more of this amazing layout over time.
Youtube video courtesy of Trainguy68:
