Rails to Raleigh will feature over 25 home and club layouts and includes N, HO, O, G and Live Steam scales. Several of the layouts have been covered in the commercial press. Many layouts feature DCC and/or computer operation, and some will be offering an operating session.

The layouts cover a three-county area in the Research Triangle Area of North Carolina, with three exceptions. So attendees can see as many as possible various layouts will be open Thursday evening, Friday afternoon, Saturday afternoon and Sunday afternoon.

All layout tours are self guided so you are free to visit the layouts that specifically interest you following your own timetable. Study the information below, then when you arrive use the Layout Tour Book and plan your travels to make the best use of your time.

Some layouts that feature operations will offer an operating session to attendees as an extra fare option. See the Operations page for details and the Registration page to sign up.

Special Notes:

1. For privacy reasons contact information, maps and addresses of these layouts will not be posted on this web site. This information will be provided in the Layout Tour Book which attendees will receive when they arrive at the Convention.

2. If you wish to visit a layout on Thursday night before you arrive and register at the convention hotel please email the Home Layout Tour Chairman. Dick Genthner , for contact information and directions. Please include your full name and registration number.

3. Check the Registration desk at the Convention hotel for any last minute chenges.

 
Dave's ACL Spartanburg Division is an N-Scale point-to-point layout designed for operations. The Layout is located in an upstairs bedroom about 20 ft by 16ft. There is approximately 150 ft of mainline and about 70 turnouts/switches. The railroad runs from Wilmington, NC to Spartanburg, SC. It also interchanges with the Clinchfield RR. The control is DCC by Digitrax and operations will be done using a car-card system and a fast clock. The railroad has just started the scenery phase, but is definitely a MUST SEE for N-Scalers as well as HO-Scalers alike. The railroad is in a perfect stage right now to see how all of the mysterious things underneath are done. This will provide an insight and impetus to those who are just about to start the bench work or track work on their own model railroad.

Trains will be running throughout the open house and will include local switching, merchandise freights, coal drags, and occasional passenger service.
 

 
Don's switching layouts (he has two) are 2 feet by 8 feet and 2 feet by 12 feet in size. The track work is 100% complete and the scenery is about 75% complete. They are DC controlled and have seven industries to work. This 2 by 8 layout was brought to life from a computer game and can test your skills as you spot 9 cars to their industry locations. The 2 by 12 layout has several 5 car trains that have to be switched into 8 industries in the shortest possible time.

 
The freelance Brandywine Valley Railroad is loosely patterned on the old Wilmington and Northern which runs from Wilmington, Delaware north to Reading, Pennsylvania with a branch from Chadds Ford to Baltimore, Maryland. The HO BVR is a two level layout in a 42' x 30' "fat L" with the crew lounge and dispatcher occupying the rest of the square, located in Dil's basement. Layout and scenery are completed (with much detailing opportunity remaining). Local panels are touch screens. A computer network connects the panels to Turnouts, Signals and Trains. A 5 level helix, TV monitors, live graphic timetable, Freight forwarding waybills, and the Telephone system are other items of interest. The BVR is point to point with tracks on 3 levels. There are 2 turntables and 149 turnouts connected by 1400 feet of track, all controlled by 124 microcontrollers networked under the layout to a central Computer. Dil's BVR is a DC block controlled layout, but is controlled by 15 "cabs", which are touch screen display stations conveniently located for operations. There are 16 hand held micro control stations (HARTs) for walk around control. This is definitely a MUST SEE model railroad.

This railroad will also be part of an operating session. See the Operations Call Board.

 
The Carolina Midland is located in the old REA building in the newly refurbished and restored Downtown Greensboro Depot. You may actually get lucky and see some full size (prototype) trains movements when you come to visit. The group is currently working on their permanent Model Railroad, called the Carolina Midland Railway. They have a complete modular layout that has lots of structures and scenery as well as running trains. For more information on their HO and N scale layouts click here to go to the CMR web site.

 
Frank's freelance HO layout is located in the upstairs finished attic room, which is 25ft by 27 ft. It is 100% complete with scenery and lots of detailed structures. It is a continuously running layout and can run 2 trains at the same time, but it is also DC Block controlled and thus can run 3 trains by 3 separate operators. The layout boasts lots of craftsman structures, trestles and bridges. Bring your camera for the layout. The layout has numerous day-to-day scenes for you to discover. Frank also builds beautiful wooden locomotives that will be on display in the Train Show at the convention hotel.

 
Steve's layout is designed for operation. Help from the LD-SIG and OP-SIG was instrumental in the final plan and operation of this large layout. It is housed in a separate climate controlled building. The layout is 24 x 46 with a 12 x 12 meeting room. The mainline is approximately 325' with 2 branch lines of 40' and 60'. The layout is based on a railroad that was never built connecting Asheville and Boone, NC. A 30' yard connects the railroad to 16 staging tracks or "the rest of the world". The staging tracks represent towns/cities on the Southern Railroad in the mid 1940 era. In spite of the regular good natured heckling from the diesel operators in the area, this is a steam railroad. Operations started in September 2005 with sequential trains running as extras. No time clock is presently being used. The dispatcher sits at a virtual CTC panel. The CTC panel is comprised of 3 touch screens which control turnouts and signals as well as showing block occupancy. Bruce Chubb's s-mini boards and other CMRI components are used for block detection, turnout control, and signals. The boards connect to a computer which connects to the touch screens. Custom software and interfacing by Dil Huey brings together the software and hardware for a smooth operational model railroad. Digitrax DCC is used only to control trains. Scenery is only about 25% roughed in. There are no structures on the layout but plywood footprints are used to show placement of structures for operation. All track is operational. This is a chance to "look under the hood" of a railroad that in the years to come will be highly detailed with many craftsman type structures and scenery representing the mountains of North Carolina.

 
Charles's & Stephen's railroad is housed in an outside building about 45 feet long and 25 feet wide. The theme is the New York Central and Boston & Maine railroads. Construction began in 1999 on 8-1/2 sheets of plywood and the layout is about 50% complete. DC block control is used and has the capability of running 6 or 7 engines at one time. There are 4 main lines and a yard with over 12 different classification tracks to set up trains, plus 3 engine houses and a roundhouse. The main focus right now is the scenery which is about 25% done.

In addition to the HO scale railroad there is a lot of railroad memorabilia which is mostly from the New York Central.

 
The CSX Clayton Division a 15 by 32 feet layout on the second floor of Russ' house, and is modeled after the modern day CSX Railroad. Scenery is mostly complete with lighting in buildings and on the background models. Russ has an additional room off from the train room where people can sit and watch train videos on a big screen TV.

 
Bruce Faulkner's CSXT Shenandoah Division is an N scale model railroad designed for prototypical operations. This 17' x 43' double-decked layout features a mainline run of 280 feet (about 8.5 scale miles) from one end to the other. The layout reflects Bruce's interest in the former Clinchfield Railroad. Accordingly, the layout has been built to run long trains on a busy single-track mainline, and makes maximum use of the advantages of N scale for realistic operations. Pushers are used on many trains due to heavy tonnage and steep grades. The layout features motive power in a variety of paint schemes from the CSXT merger era of the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Construction of the current layout began in January 2002, and limited operating sessions have been held since March 2005. This model railroad features many innovative design and construction techniques as well. Be sure to attend the clinic "Designing the CSXT Shenandoah Division" to learn more about this railroad before seeing it for yourself.

The benchwork is complete. Track crews have finished all the mainline, passing siding, staging yard, and most industry trackage, with the major classification yard to be finished in the future. Visible track is predominantly Atlas code 55, with code 80 used in the staging yards. The layout is DCC equipped using Digitrax components, including block occupancy detection, with CTC signal installation to come. The dispatcher controls traffic movements via CATS/JMRI software from a PC. Currently, the only scenery on the layout is on a peninsula salvaged from a prior version of the Shenandoah Division. The scenery represents the fall season in the Appalachian Mountains.

The prototype-freelanced CSXT Shenandoah Division represents the 1986-1994 era of what was the Shenandoah Valley Line Railroad prior to the CSXT merger. The Shenandoah Division route forms the shape of a "Y". One leg of the "Y" originates at Connellsville, Pa., and travels through the mountains of the Virginias to arrive at Salem, Va. before terminating in Wadesboro, NC The other leg of the "Y" originates in Winchester, Va. and intersects the first leg near Covington, Va. In addition, Norfolk Southern shares joint trackage from Shenandoah Junction, Va. to Roanoke Junction in Salem. As a result, the heaviest traffic over the Shenandoah Division traverses the line between Covington and Salem, which is reflected in the modeled segment.

Today's Shenandoah Division is an important freight route for CSXT from the Midwest and Northeast to the South. Since CSXT single-tracked the former ACL between Richmond and Rocky Mount, some of the New York and Philadelphia area to Atlanta traffic now moves via the Shenandoah Division. In addition, Midwest (Chicago, Detroit, and Cincinnati area) traffic moves over the Shenandoah Division because of congestion on the busy ex-L&N routes from Cincinnati to Atlanta. West Virginia coal tonnage continues to be shipped over the Shenandoah Division to both power plant and export customers.

Note: This layout is NOT wheelchair accessible, and does require climbing stairs to the second story layout room.

For more information, visit the CSXT Shenandoah Division on the web at www.shendiv.com .

 
Ron's model railroad layout is located in a garage that shares the space with several antique autos. This is an extra delight if you like antique Chevrolet's. It is a continuous running layout with DC Block (3 cabs) control. Lighted structures and mini-scenes are scattered about the layout for viewing interest. The layout is 100% finished complete with scenery. It is an approximately 12 by 14 foot oval and several trains continuously run to delight the viewer.

 
Don Bullock's layout is located above his detached garage in a very nicely finished layout room. The layout measures approximately 18 feet by 32 feet and uses about 2/3 of the space. Don has a helix that allows trains to go from one level to another. The track work is almost complete. Scenery, structures, and bridges have been started and by the end of this year, operations to various industries will be taking place. The layout is controlled by CVP Products Railcommand and Don is installing the Bruce Chubb CMRI system.

The North Raleigh Model Railroad Club's NTRAK layout will be set up in the Train Show area at the hotel and is available for viewing at all hours the Train Show is open. Click here for more information.

To participate in the Operating Session on Saturday sign up on the Registration form

 
Kim's Railroad is located in his model railroad store. The layout is continuous running and point-to-point. It is setup so it can be controlled via timetable by a computer for display purposes. It is approximately 9 by 18 feet in size and has 600 feet of track with about 45 turnouts. It is currently in the process of having scenery built, but is completed for running purposes. The layout is set in the Raleigh, Sanford, Durham and Selma, NC area and utilizes Southern, Seaboard Coast Line, and Norfolk Southern (old) from 1967 to 1982, prior to the mergers. The layout is DCC controlled using Digitrax. Many of his locos have sound and extra lighting features.

It's June, 1970, and business is booming. The Penn Central railroad, desperate for a way to bypass the clogged Northeast corridor, has merged it's 97% owned Lehigh Valley into the fold. Among other things, this has resulted in the newly formed Lehigh and Delaware division of the Penn Central Railroad. It's a mix of Penn Central and Lehigh Valley tracks, running Northwest from Philadelphia, PA to Buffalo, NY. Integration is just starting, but several high priority PC trains are already running on ex LV tracks. However, most trains, both PC and LV, are still running as they have in the past. The Central Railroad of New Jersey and the Lehigh and Hudson River still have trackage rights over much of the LV mainline. There is still a fair amount of CNJ traffic.

The layout is an N scale layout, more or less filling an irregularly shaped basement about 1100 square feet in size. It is complete as to track and wiring. Scenery is about 70% done. It is a single level design, with no duck-unders. The layout is point to point, with staging yards at each end. The longest mainline run is about 10 miles, but only a few trains make the whole run. About 1/3 of the mainline is single track, with the rest double track. Two branch lines have yet to be started.

 
The Eno Valley Division is located on the 2nd floor of a large garage that Ed had built for this layout. The PRR is 32 feet by 24 feet and fills 768 square feet. The layout has over 1,450 feet of track with about 165 turnouts. There are about 135 signal heads used on his signaling system. Ed has a very large Altoona yard and also a horseshoe curve on the layout. Many of the buildings on the layout are craftsman kits that are expertly built and weathered. A lot have been modified to fit a particular scene or industry. The layout is 99% complete and the scenery is beautifully done. The railroad is controlled from a dispatcher using a computer to keep track of all the trains. Layout control features an NCE DCC system. The Eno Division is one of the layouts on a regularly scheduled round-robin Operating group. This is a MUST see layout.

 
Paul's garden railroad is located in his very nicely landscaped front yard. The railroad has one continuous loop that meanders around the front yard for the enjoyment of running trains, which include some freight runs and some passenger runs. Paul also has a small "automated" mining railroad. The small locomotive collects ore from the mine and moves it to the other end for processing. It then reverses itself and repeats the process. It is a very pleasurable sight and reminds you of one of the children's cartoon shows. If you do bring children, and children are welcome, please be mindful of them at all times and refrain them from crossing and stepping on the tracks as this can damage them. If you are a gardener, then this is a must see.

Dick's layouts (he actually has two) are located in an upstairs and downstairs bonus room built especially for the model railroads. He is primarily depicting The Pennsylvania (and some close relatives) Railroad and a comprehensive interurban and trolley layout. Those of you familiar with Dick know that trolleys are his favorites. His layout is well on the way to being finished and has most of the track installed and wired. There has been some work done on scenery and new structures appear almost daily. The layout is expected to be about 50% complete by the time of the convention with some scenery areas completely detailed for your photographic pleasure. Some parts of the layout(s) will be block control DC and the remainder will be Digitrax DCC. Many of Dick's beautiful trolleys have no easy way to be converted to DCC at this time.

 
The Terrapin Lines started in 1997 and is located in an 8' x 12' 2nd floor bedroom of Vinny's house. It consists of seven sections with a single-track mainline in HO scale. It's is about 80-90% finished and features many backwoods-type structures with interior lighting. The layout has dimmable day (white) and night (blue) lighting. The sections are modified open grid with 4" of Styrofoam and black Masonite fascias. Main layout is Shinohara track with Peco track in the staging area (18" x 48"). Currently the layout is DC powered but has plans for DCC in the future.

The Town & Country Traction Company modules will be set up in the Train Show area at the hotel, and will be available for viewing at all hours the Train Show is open. Click here for more information.

 
Bob's Union Pacific railroad is located in his basement and is a continuous running layout. It is DC Block controlled with lots of lighted structures and mini-scenes scattered about the layout for viewing interest. The layout is 100% finished complete with scenery. He also has an exact model of his house on the layout. Bob will also display an HO scale waterfall module normally used in a modular layout.

This Page:

Last Updated:

Webmaster:

This page and all contents are Copyright 2004–2005 by the Carolina Piedmont Division 13, NMRA MER.
(CPD13 is a Not-For-Profit Corporation incorporated in North Carolina.)
The various logos and heralds shown here are the property of their respective organizations.