It is indeed under construction, as I have just wrapped up an intense scenery campaign, starting with the town on the interior. I've got to do the interior first, since working on the payout requires leaning over generally delicate stuff, and so I can lean over the edges of the table on stuff that will get finished later.

This HO scale layout is a free-standing walk-around DC table layout measuring about 6 ft × 10 ft (185 × 305  cm). The track is almost entirely code 83 Walthers Shinohara Nickel-Silver, in flex track and DCC-friendly turnouts. The menu at the left will direct you to various presentations of the layout development. Have fun poking around!

I started planning this layout in the Fall of 2005, and a year later had the basic track plan developed and the initial benchwork built. Electrical wiring was essentially complete by October of 2008—man, was that a big job! Trackwork is complete and clean, with flawless turnout operation, as of November of 2023.

Status in November 2023: I am very happy to say that all the track and turnouts are working flawlessly. I have even started work on the rolling stock, and now all the engines that will ever run are running smoothly. The others will become part of the scenery. As for scenery, the "downtown" and intermodal yard are complete. More to come as I work my way from the center of the layout to the edges. Stay tuned!

Here is a new useful item: A nomograph of the National Model Railroad Association's rolling stock weighting standard (actually a Recommended Ractice, RP-20.1). This graph makes is super easy to determine the recommended weight (or mass, if using the Système Internationale) for your rail car as a function of its length. Click on the image to get a larger version, or get it as a handy PDF. Enjoy!

If you have any questions or comments, email me at j2(at)tauxe.net.

Most of the images in the narratives come up at 400 pixels across, and if you click on any image, it will bring up a larger version of the same image.