For the first time ever, an MRVP video crew visits Model Railroader magazine contributing editor Tony Koester in his New Jersey home to capture an up-close look at his multiple-deck HO scale layout, the Nickel Plate Road St. Louis Division. You’ve seen his amazing model railroad in the pages of MR (December 2014 issue), now join Tony as he takes you on a walking tour of the sites, sounds, and action on the layout!
Layout visit: Tony Koester’s Nickel Plate Road in HO scale
By Kent Johnson | November 19, 2014
| Last updated on June 25, 2025
Not often that a model railroader builds one layout that he or she, and other modelers, can consider their magnum opus. Tony, you’ve done it twice. Just stellar!
Good work on the layout Tony
Absolutely jaw dropping. I feel I’ll never get mine finished.
I really enjoyed the tour. Thanks for sharing. Quick question: how do you set up Tortoise switch motors to work on top of the baseboard instead of underneath in your staging areas?
Tony, what's not to love about your layout? beautiful, please don't think I'm nit picken here but did the NPR equipment stay that clean!? it must have been a wonderful time to be a kid chasing trains
Tony, your photo backdrops remind me what I think will be a new product for layouts. Shallow-depth 3-D printed trees! Just another way to transition to a backdrop that might eliminate some shadow problems and add detail. What do you think?
Tony, could you tell us what you used for water in your river scenes?
What an awesome model rail road!
Sure enjoyed the video.
Thanks
A fantastic layout in all respects, Tony. The video presentation was superb as well. I only wish it could have been two or three times longer. It is an inspiration to many of us to see what you have been able to accomplish.
It may sound odd, but I really appreciate how this is a warts and all visit to the layout that doesn't hide from showing you bits that aren't quite finished yet, could use some more details, or just aren't the perfect angle to hide the bottom of the upper deck. It really made me appreciate all the work that obviously has gone in to it already. Awesome stuff, I could easily watch another 45 minutes of this, and I cannot wait to see the operating session!
Wow! Very very nice. I've been following the layout for years in Model railroader. Great to see the finished product.Great job Tony. Thank you for sharing.
I neglected to address a question about the interlocking plants. That will become an article in itself due to the variety of approaches to interlocking on my railroad. Quick summary: For the past several years, I have been pleading for an "Interlocking in a Box," where one can program the schedule of the "dummy" crossing foreign railroad into a module and have that circuit knock down the NKP home signals to red-over-red for ten fast-time (3:1) minutes whenever a foreign-road train is due. Iowa Scaled Engineering is testing a prototype as we speak. I'll need eight or nine of them. The Linden, Ind., crossing with the Monon will be controlled by one of my two operators using an exact copy of the small desktop GRS CTC machine that is still on display at the Linden depot museum; CTC Components is doing the electrical work on the machine I built. Two interchanges (Metcalf, Ill., and Cayuga, Ind.) will actually be switched by a crewman, so a B&O or C&EI train may actually be blocking the NKP diamond as the session begins.
I appreciate everyone's feedback. Let me respond to several comments: The layout is anything but "finished," as in most areas there is only a base layer of ground cover, structure foundations have yet to be set into the ground, lots of trees are still needed, several key structures remain unbuilt, etc. None of the diamond crossings are finished, as they're dummy crossings as far as the foreign railroad is concerned. A friend cast some foot-long lengths of code 70 rail from resin, and I'll probably make the diamonds from that insulated rail. As Ben Lake said, we also shot part of an operating session, and you'll see that soon. I hope it includes the sequence on the Automated Interchange from Iowa Scale Engineering, which is an upgrade of one I described in MR back around 2006. My mother was a bit of a steam fan; my dad actually disliked the Nickel Plate, as they kept bashing his boxcar loads of brick into brick bats! The surface-mounted Tortoise motors visible on the top deck of the railroad power the west-end (Fourth Subdivision) 12-track staging yard. I couldn't mount them under the subroadbed, as they would have hung down into the middle-deck scenes. The QSI Titan Alco 244 decoder in the PA-1 needed to have the turbocharger whine turned WAY down; sorry for the howl! And the video reminded me that some of the SceniKing photo backdrops have come loose and need to be reattached to the hardboard backdrop!
It was a very nice touch to remember your father on the layout. I assume he had a big influence on your formative years as a "railfan". Ingenious solutions to the problems that we face when modeling in the basement. Thank you for the visit.
Yes, there is an operations video coming soon!
Thanks for sharing your superb layout. Have read so much about it and now have seen it. Your are an inspiration to all layout builders. I too would like to see a video of your operations. Thanks, JIM
Great layout Tony!! Thanks for sharing it with us! Great way to get access to needed household equipment!
Tony, thanks very much for sharing your pike! I'm inspired to get with it on mine. Do tell; what is powered by the tortoise machines in the last scene. I will be getting out last month's MR.
Really enjoyed your tour. Great job presenting it.
A splendid concept very well excecuted,Tony. I've been a fan of yours for years and your new layout just continues to inspire me. I too believe in the KISS priciple when it comes to lift out sections of a layout. Also, that large swinging door for access to the water appliances! That's shear genius! Thanks again, Tony, for all of your contributions to the hobby. May God bless you and have a Happy Thanksgiving!
Love the video! Do we also get to see an operating session as well as mentioned back in October?
Thanks again Tony, you and your Nickel Plate have been an inspiration to me and I'm sure thousands of others.
Tony, The Nickel Plate St. Louis Division looks fantastic. I am a little puzzled as to why the diamonds are not diamonds at all? Do you have any plans on dressing up the diamonds to give them more of a realistic look? I'm a fan of modeling the passage of time and it was great to see the abandoned CA&S right of way on your layout, very nice.
Tony, Thanks for sharing your incredible layout. You are a true inspiration.
I've been waiting for a couple diamond crossovers to come in on back order to do the next section of my layout, BUT watching this and seeing what you did I realized I dont need those pieces at all!! Great video!!! I'm borrowing one of your idea 😉