K-10's Model Trains
All photos by Boxcar Bob Miano.
| K-10's Model Trains is a grand and wonderful new HO layout that MVNS members had the priviledge of visiting on April 12, 2000. In attendance were Charles Aue, Ron Bawden, Paul Conrad, Glenn Koproske, Bob Miano, Tim O'Fallon, Bob Olbrich, Jerry Prott, and Ali Shahriary. Two marvelous things about K-10 is the well-insulated metal building with clear spans inside (no support columns), and really wide aisles round the peninsulas. Most model railroaders tend to skimp on their aisle widths. There are duckunders throughout the layout, but they have taken the trouble to put strips of carpet on the cement floor to make getting on your hands and knees more comfortable. This was our club's first experience with DCC control. We found it greatly enhanced railroad operations. Plus no control panels. All turnouts are hand-thrown. We operated with two people per train. One to run the throttle and wear the headset, and one to wakl ahead of the locomotives to align the route. |
| This photo is the first of three making a panoramic view of the enormity of the building and the layout. Standing on the dispatcher's elevated platform, we are looking to the extreme left. You can see a ramp along the wall leading up to the platform. The entrance doors are in the far background. You can see how well lit the building is. The temperature inside was very comfortable without having to run the furnace or air conditioner. |
| Here we are looking at the center of the room. The Southern Pacific yard dominates the foreground. Glenn and Ron spent much of the evening making up trains here, and had to actually think before they could make a move! |
| Finally we see the right side of the room. The Union Pacific yard is the background. All tracks are marked and all stations are labelled. For example, Union Pacific Main Eastbound. The dispatcher will tell the crew to take the main or a siding and to what division point we had clearance. Then it was up to us to get there! |
| The dispatcher is showing Glenn where to go after he asked where the N Scale was. |
| Hand held DCC control makes running trains realistically much easier than traditional block control. Some of the scenery has been worked on, as shown here. All of the benchwork, track, and wiring is complete. Minimal ballasting has been done thus far. There is a beautifully painted backdrop along one wall that is constructed out of a single roll of linoleum. |
| Jerry Prott and Bob Olbrich formed a crew and are figuring out what all the knobs and buttons do on the Digitrax controller. |
| Ron and Ali, new to MVNS, had a great time and agree we should all pay a return visit! |