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| Last updated on January 21, 2021
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Model Railroader 2026 Calendar
Don't miss Model Railroader’s all-new 2026 calendar, featuring Rod Stewart's spectacular layout!
At 1:23 to 1:30 and 9:07 to 9:25 on the video in the backdrop there is something black and white that got my attention. Just trying to figure out what it represents? Almost like a Magpie bird on the end of a branch of a tree.
Every time I watch it, that one thing catches my eye?
Thanks for the tour. Nice detail, and realism. Share your layout with others, and get a regular operating crew in to run the layout. It is great fun when you bring a group of people in to really get some action going! Lots of great modeling is evident. Bravo!
Really tickled by the Tucker billboard in your Midwestern town.
you mentioned you normally run this alone, who or what Army helped build it? and how long has it been ‘in-progress? it’s very beautiful and I could only imagine the hours spent in the train cave.. your wife must be very understanding to have allowed that much modification to the house.. doors to floors and swing gates..wow..
Great tour Gerry… You have always been one of my favorite personalities on MRVP and I truly look forward to meeting you in person one day. Keep up the great work and making sure that Model Railroading is still fun!
Say Gerry great tour have you done an article on a the train stop for the door opening and maybe you could tell us about setting up JMRI on one of your locals thanks again
Great tour. Is there a layout plan available? I got a little lost in all the levels and twists.
Excellent Tour. Very Informative and friendly. Lots of great ideas to model. Thanks.
Hi Gerry, The tour was amazing. Thank you! Do you having future plans for a dusk, night or dawn video shoot of your layout. I can imagine how much detail you would put into the lighting effects. Nice chimney and door detector.
Charlie Lopez Sr.
Guess that Milwaukee power couldn’t handle the work, much like its home road. And I pity the engine crew riding that 0-8-0 around the layout. Nothing to cushion the curves.
Neat-o, Gerry.
It is nice to finally get a tour of this. It is amazing! Keep the videos coming!
John — there’s no real video or article about my swinging door. However I did an article about how to keep the tracks aligned as the layout and house expands and contracts with the seasons. It was in the April 2016 issue of Model Railroader, and called something like “Aligning track on moveable benchwork.” Also, David did a piece about lift-up benchwork in the first season of “Rehab My Railroad” here on MRVP.
Love the way the photo backdrops are blended into the background scenery. Makes the layout feel much larger than it actually is– the eye has trouble measuring where it stops and the backdrop starts. You could do a whole how-to video just on your tricks for achieving that effect. .
I REALLY enjoyed the visit! Is there somewhere I can learn about your “door” with track across it? I’ll have to do something similar to get access to the circuit breaker box and water shut off in a corner of the basement. Maybe do a video on it with sub roadbed and track angles at the openings to get it to open and shut without tearing everything up?
Very nice layout Gerry, would make a great article for 3D Track Plans
Gerry it was fantastic to see your whole layout I have been fascinated by the portion I have seen on off the rails and your other contributions on MRVP. As a former Michigan resident now living in the deep south I can associate with the scenery you have. Is there any intent to write an article about your Railroad in MR similar to what Tony Koester did with his Nickle Plate layout that would be I would look forward to reading
Gerry, I love the “drone” idea. I likely will do most of my operating alone, so having the drone run around while I’m switching would add interest. I also have a two-level layout (about 11′ by 25′) in development. The bottom level is LA in 1954 (yeah, I realize I don’t have room for all of it, so I “compress”!). The top level is still percolating in my brain. Generally, I think of it as “Riverside,” which is where my grandparents lived, so the trains would go from LA to Riverside. But your layout gives me some ideas of what to model between. Thanks for sharing!
No offence Gerry, Wally was the star of this tour!
Great video, Gerry. I really enjoyed the tour.
Gerry
I really enjoyed the video of your layout – your modelling is amazing. I have 2 questions: 1. is a trackplan of your layout available for viewing anywhere? 2. I presume that you must have a helix somewhere to move between decks but you did not mention it – whhere is it located?
Thank you very much, everyone! (Glad the “Comments” are fixed!)
Brian — No, there’s no trackplan available anywhere. But you must’ve missed the part where I talked about the fact that it’s a constant 1.5% grade between the decks — a “No-lix.”
Rich — The layout was started in February of 2014, so it’s a little over 5 years old.
Carl — it’s no secret that we switched trains. You can see the original train stop and the new one take the mainline at 05:45 in the video! And the elephant IS on the layout — the guys just didn’t happen to take any video of it.
Gerry:
at the 3:40 mark when you closed the door there was a screw adjacent to the track. I assume this is used to align the track? Has there ever been an article on how this works? If so can you point me to the article. If no article is there a plan to do one? In my basement on Long Island the humidity variation requires me to make shim adjustment to align the track over the seasons. An adjustable screw mechanism would make it easier.
Gerry – You have exquisitely captured the small town/country feel that I am striving for on my layout. Thanks for the video update.
Gerry
Amazing detail!
Hope I live long enough to get a fraction or details you have on my layout.
This is a beautiful layout! Great scenery and very nice buildings! ????
Was it me or did you have problems with focus? The layout was spectacular… adding space between places makes a big difference.