Tom B's Home Layout

My layout is now in a 24 X 32’ room. It is sort of an upside down mirror image letter G when you come in, which really isn’t very helpful. Starting in 1967, it has been built in sections, by which it is maybe a little bit moveable than it might be otherwise. The very first segment, a loop of streetcar track, is right at the center of it all. Some of it has been in five different locations around the country, but the railroad part is mostly new, as are all the longer trolley runs.

When I first built it, I was pretty proud of how it came out, but recent improvements is scenery materials and techniques now make it outstandingly average. About 6 months ago (very early 2020), I snagged my shirt in some of the downtown overhead wire that I’ve not yet fixed, so if the electric cars run at all, they will dewire at the downtown intersection multiple times, so it doesn’t get run very often. The steam railroad part, a long, often double track line with balloon tracks at each end, still works pretty well, but since the single track portions give it two reversing loops, it can’t be run continuously without frequent trips between two control panels to throw both electrical as well as track switches. DCC might be nice, but it is still analog dc control.

A much more complete description, a diagram, and photos was run in the Kalmbach Layout Planning Guide 2017. It has not changed since then. In the form it was in three moves ago, it was featured in the March-April 1981 issues of Railroad Model Craftsman.

See "Adding traction to a steam railroad" in Model Railroad Planning 2017

Pictures from visit to Tom B's Home Layout

visited November 11, 2023