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One of the things I like to do is model railroading, and I have built a railroad layout that I take to about 3 shows each year. One of the shows is in Wayzata, Minnesota. If you're in Wayzata at the time of the show, stop in at the Wayzata Bay Center.
My layout is an HO scale modular railroad layout, measuring 34' 8" long and 13' 2" wide. Technical Information about my layout is located at the bottom of this page.
Below are some pictures and descriptions from the finished portions of my layout. The pictures were taken at various shows at area shopping centers from February 2000 to April 2001. Just click the image for a larger image to see more detail.
A GP50 goes through the trees on one end of the layout before getting to one of the at-grade crossings. | 
A pair of my brother's SD45's cross an at-grade crossing near the grain elevator. |
A pair of my C44-9W's meet my brother's 4-8-4 at a crossing. Here you can see both corners at this end of the layout. | 
My brother's 4-8-4 Northern approaches a crossing. In the background you can see the box part of my utility rack. |
A string of boxcars winds its way past the grain elevator as it comes out of the curve. | 
Two of my brother's C44-9W's cross this at-grade crossing. The lights and gates are fully functional at this crossing. The gates go up and down using a Tortoise switch machine. |
Here we see a pair of my C44-9W's passing the passenger station and platforms. This is one of my newer additions. | 
This is a good shot of the grain elevator and scale house. You can see a string of freight cars passing the crossing in the foreground. |
Here you can see the shop which is located at the end of the freight yard. My Wisconsin Central SD45 is in the foreground, and you can see the switch tower at the yard entrance at the background. | |
The whole layout when set up is 34' 8" long and 13' 2" wide. It is an island-style layout with 2 main lines and a yard. The whole layout includes almost 300 feet of track.
My benchwork consists of open-grid style frames made of 1x4s. The legs are 2x2s that are made in sets of 2. Each leg set has a pocket on the top of it that blocks underneath the layout set into.
I designed a common-rail cab control system with 4 throttles strategically placed around the layout. The wiring all plugs together with computer-style connectors at all of the module joints and at the control panel.
Sorry I don't currently have pics of my trackplan or yards; they didn't turn out because of lighting. The pics I do have are shown below; just click the thumb for the full-size picture.
This is my control panel. With my common-rail cab system, I can operate any block or track from any one of the four throttles. | 
I use computer connecters for the power at each of the module joints. You can also see how two 2x2 legs are attached to make 1 leg set. Also notice how the modules overlap so one leg set supports two modules. |
These are my homemade module racks. All of the scenery and buildings stay on the layout as they are loaded. These racks then roll right into my trailer side-by-side. | 
The special rack on the left holds 1 module plus all of the leg sets and throttles and control panel. The box on the right holds miscellaneous stuff such as tools, bolts, skirting, etc. Both have a bottom area where boxes can be carried. |
This is a special size rack which holds only the 4 corner modules. | |