I call mine " train layout".
Layout name: The Free State Junction Railway( FSJR ). The FSJR was featured in Run 290 of OGR Magazine. I chose the name of the Free State Junction Railway because I grew up and live in Maryland. Maryland is also known as " The Free State".
Layout dimensions: 16 x 6 ft with a 1 x 4 ft. shelf extention. Powered by: MTH Z4000 & Lionel ZW. Widest curve 054, sharpest curve 032.
Track system: Gargraves with Gargraves and K line switches.
Features: 1. ) A mountain ( Mt. Randolph ) reaching from the base of the table to approximately eight inches from the the ceiling. 2. ) Bollman iron suspension bridge ... a replica of the fist iron suspension bridge system used by U.S. railroads. The prototype system being first used on the B&O and now a National Historic Landmark and Civil Engineering Landmark. Designed by Wendall Bollman ,the only surviving Bollman bridge of this type is located a couple blocks from my home. 3.) A lake ( Lake Christopher ). 4. ) Several local landmark buildings and tributes to members of my family. 5. Elevated trolly line.
Locomotive fleet: Approximately 40 locos by Atas O, K line, MTH, Lionel - both postwar and contemporary, Williams, and Williams by Bachman. 2 motorized units, RDC cars by Lionel, MU cars by K line.
Rolling stock: Atlas O, K line, Kris, MTH, Lionel, Weaver, 
Williams and Williams by Bachman.
Era Modeled: The transition era 1946 - 1960. Why: For me this era in railroad history is the most exciting due to the fact that steam, electric, and diesel all co - existed. Of course in 1960 the last fires of class one railroad's few remaining steam locomotives were dropped. Five major manufactures ALCO, Baldwin, EMD, Fairbanks Morse, Lima, and GE ( who was manufacturing small industrial diesel switchers at that time) were all coming out with an array of very interesting looking locomotives in those early post war years. Additionally some coal hauling railroads were still trying to "perfect" the efficiency of the steam locomotive, even building them in their own erecting shops.... one example being the N&W J class in 1950.
During the transition era, one could sit by the tracks in Maryland and, depending on which RR track you were sitting beside, witness in action the pinnacle of steam locomotive design/technology at the point of a fast freight or passenger train .... then see a set of gleaming Budd RDC cars zip by .... minutes later a GG-1 or could speed by with a 16 car passenger consist ... next an ABA set of EMD F units running lite ... then, a way freight with a steamer built in the 1920s pulling rolling stock dating back to the early 1900s intermingled with newer freight cars. Of course, too, there were passenger cars; the new streamliners and the older heavy weight cars often mixed into the same train.
Railroads of The Free State Junction Railway: All railroads, both class one and short lines, of Maryland during the transition era. Those railroads being: CLASS ONE: B&O, Pennsylvania, Norfolk and Western, Western Maryland. SHORT LINES: Baltimore and Annapolis, Canton, Maryland and Pennsylvania, Patapsco and Back Rivers. Additionally I model the Reading which had trackage rights over part of the Western Maryland.
