while looking through an old back issue of mr, I found an article at the back talking about radio control for model railroaders written by Paul Larson. the accompanying photo showed larson operating one the old project railroads called the Great South Pass. Does anyone know of this layout and can provide more info on it?
It was a project railroad around 1957. It was an island type about 5’ x 10’. As I recall it was a typical 50s layout with a small yard for storage and a loop that crossed itself a couple of times. It would need serious modification to bring it up to date
This layout was featured in the April through September 1956 issues of Model Railroader. Back issues or reprints may be available from Kalmbach. I don’t know if the layout appeared in later issues of MR.
Joe
OR, you could buy the upcoming DVD from MR and get the full article series.
Andre
The Great South Pass was MR 's 1956 project layout. I had occasion over thirty years ago to browse the 1956 issues and I remember this 5-part series. I don’t remember the size but if I recall correctly it was an around the edges oval with a village and industries inside this oval; I can’t recall whether there was a small mountain with a tunnel on one end or not but I would be surprised if there were not one as Westcott was want to do this type styling on his project layouts in that era.
The following December Westcott began a project layout in HO Monthly/Model Trains Magazine, another Kalmbach pub from that era, labeled the Great Northern Pacific and was subsequently published with the title of the HO Railroad That Grows. I built a 4’ X 11’ N-Scale adaptation of the HO Railroad That Grows in 1984-85, my first excursion into Code 55 trackwork. and my one frustration with handlaying rail. Unfortunately it didn’t last long enough to ever get sceniced. This HO Railroad That Grows has been belittled as overly simplistic but it did have one glowing asset: by utilizing the “Airline” it had the capability of through running of one train while utilizing the lower level to switch the lower level industries.
Simplistic or not this layout has somewhat fascinated me and I am giving serious lthought to doing another version for my next – and probably last – layout. This one must, of necessity, be portable and I am going to suspend a 54" X 120" platform between roll-away A-frames with a second platform – 54" X 84" also suspended by roll-away A-frames – and a 24" X 36" joining section. I am going to double-track this new layout which will give me the capability of through-running two trains. The additional length will enable me to ameliorate the grade onto and off of the “Airline’” to somewhere around 2
By bringing it up to date I meant using the yard for something more than storage and the main for something more than roundy round and industries rather than buildings for scenery.
The GSP was a project railroad built by the staff of Model Railroader magazine in 1956 - 57. The railroad was 9 x 12. Besides building the railroad, Model Railroader used the railroad for other projects. They did a full article on building a turntable. They also had an article about building a control system that was 1/2 scale of the F-7 diesel locomotive. The comments regarding updating the railroad refer to having the railroad provide operations like the model railroads that are designed today. The GSP was built back in the day when a yard was simply used for storage, while the train just ran around the layout. To modernize the railroad sidings, both passing sidings and industrial sidings.