The Big Meadow Railroad

by Mike, Tanner and Carson

Here is a portion of a nice email and some photos I received from Mike and his grandsons. He uses 2 mainlines - one for each grandson, which I think is a great idea. His letter and pictures are as follows:

This is our first venture and we are having fun putting it together. I think I mentioned the layout is 5x10 feet and I keep it in the garage. I devised a double pulley system to lower it to the floor and raise it to the rafters. That way my wife can park her car in the garage under the layout. I use an electric winch to raise and lower the layout. Yep, I also installed safety straps.

The layout is named "Big Meadow Railroad." The layout is divided into four sections. The first section (mountain/tunnel) has a cabin on the top with a corral. It is called "Horse Corral".

The second section (ranch) is called "Nuchols Ranch" after my grandsons.

Nuchols Ranch on the Big Meadow Railroad

The third section is the town of "Big Meadows".

The fourth section (waterfall flows into a lake) and is called "Big Boulder Falls and Lake."

As you can see I have mocked up the roads, buildings, etc. to make sure everything fit as planned. So far so good. I am a retired Sheriff's Captain so you will see in the lower left hand corner next to the Orange orchard, I have a county jail with inmates. Just had to do it!!! My grandsons get a kick out of it.

The outer track is oval and a Lionel Santa Fe Freight train runs on it. The inner track is a figure eight and an Lionel Alaska Freight/Work train runs on it. All track is Lionel Fastrack.

Again, thank you for all your help.
Mike (Grandfather)
Tanner ( 9 year old grandson)
Carson ( 6 year old grandson)

Tunnel on the O Gauge Big Meadow Model Railroad

Tunnel on the O Gauge Big Meadow Railroad

February 20, 2010

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From "Big Meadow Railroad" to "HomePage"

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