My home 15x19-feet "layout" is shaped to fit an L-shaped room added-on to our house by the former owner for his home office (he was a draftsman). The four train platforms are hollow-core doors, each widened to 48 inches to accommodate O42 curves and switches; all track pieces are O-gauge tubular track. The platforms rest on SKIL plastic sawhorses with quarter-round wood moulding strips to hold them in position - surprisingly stable. The four platforms are "joined" together with small C-clamps attached to the underside lip of the fascia boards. It could be disassembed if/when necessary; however, the wiring (unfortunately) is not platform-specific. I don't want to think about taking it apart. After my passing (I'm now 80), the next owner of the house can keep it or dumpsterize it.
The two E-W platforms are primarily residental areas (East Suburbia and West Suburbia) with some neighborhood iconic accessories by MTH: Gas Station, Car Wash, Fire Station, and Mel's Diner, plus some MTH buildings - Country Church with an adjacent cemetery and Pergola with a wedding in progress, and an A&W Root Beer stand. There are several Ameritown and Plasticville houses in a cul-de-sac area, plus Ken's Auto Dealership (with Studebakers), a city park with several Lionel playgound action accessories, four Victorian houses (three by Lionel, one by IHC), several 1950s-era automobiles, and many people figures. I re-purposed a Lionel Municipal Building as the KLIO-FM radio station; a subtle reference my early years as a radio broadcaster. The station plays "Golden Oldies for Golden Agers" -- i.e., me. A Lionel Bandstand plays Christmas Music by Boston Brass according to arrangements by Stan Kenton via hidden CD player.
The two N-S platforms are primarily industrial areas with some structures by MTH (Brewery, Granary, Watchman Shed), a Menards Diesel-powered Electric Generating Station re-purposed as an Oil Pipeline Terminal, and several Lionel action accessories: Sawmill with an associated Log Dump, Culvert Loader and UnLoader, Switch Tower, Barrel Loader, two Oil Derricks and a LINEX oil stoarge tank, and three small trackside sheds. One corner is a Dinosaur Park -- a nod to my two great-grandsons who are "Dino-kids."
The around-the-perimeter upper level is filled with 35 lighted porcelain DEPT 56 North Pole Village pieces placed along three Christmas-theme trolleys running on 027 tracks. Several of the DEPT 56 pieces are animated; one plays music.
The two control panels are mounted underneath one of the platforms on slide-out small shelves: 1) with switch controllers, toggles for ON/OFF track power to four sidings, DC track power for the trolleys on the upper level, and sound buttons; 2) Lionel and MTH "bricks" for track power and separate 14v outputs for lighting, accessories, and switch motors. The layout is wired for TMCC through a Command Base, PowerMaster, and a trackside Direct Lock-on. I can operate in Conventional Mode also; that's available to visiting hobbyists who bring their conventional trains.
The kid-friendly trains on the layout are equipped with LionChief: Thomas, Percy, James, and Diesel with accompanying cars; plus a Lionel Dinosaur Train Set. A "Lionel Steel" train set has TMCC built-in. An auxiliary small diesel switcher (equipped with LionChief is occasionally used to tow track cleaning cars around the layout
My "adult trains" on display on the walls of the train room are: Lionel Rock Island "Mikado" steamer with RI boxcars and an EV Caboose, a Lionel RI E6 diesel with matching RI passenger cars, and a Sunset 3rd rail RI TA diesel with matching articulated passenger cars. All are equipped with TMCC. Inasmuch as my layout is equipped with O42 curves and switches, I'll never be able to run those "wide radius required" trains on the tracks. But they look great! I'll soon add another trains to the display: an MTH NASA-decor diesel switcher with a string of accompanying NASA freight cars. However, two of the rocket-body-aboard NASA flat cars can't negotiate my O42 curves.
The only landscaping feature is "green grass" patio carpeting. I confess I'm not a skilled craftsman with scenery, but I admire those with that gift.
Mike Mottler LCCA 12394
