HO Scale Ops: Mike Porter's Chicago Great Western (pt2)

[@yrunaked4]

this is what my layout wants to be when it grows up, lol. superb work

[@vicodumb]

I live in Ft. Dodge and must say that Mike has nailed the Central Ave. corridor the way it used to be. Great layout and theme.

[@popps2502]

The road bed looks great nice work.

[@calvinehlert4756]

Great layout! I was born &raised in and around Sumner,Ia and between '53 and '58 we lived in on the north side of town across the street from the Ford tractor dealer. my back yard was north of the CGW main and my brother and I watched a West bound freight come flying thru and it separated! The engineer was able to slow the train down enough and reconnected the train . they later stopped west of town and did an inspection. my dad was a fireman during WW 2 and his run was between Oelwein,Ia and St Paul,Mn. he told of a "jinked" steamer that tipped off the tracks in Sumner on its inaugural run and engineers were leery of it! some time later that engine exploded on that big long bridge you have depicted on your layout! one time I got a ride of one of the section inspectors "put,put" units - people collect them now!

[@EmpireBeltRR]

I've enjoyed this series immensely. Nice job catching all the action on this great looking layout!

[@dmcry600]

A Fantastic Layout Mike!!! I'm glad you're doing these videos!!!

[@kevinkelleher8270]

This layout covers the same section that I worked on in 1970-71. I was MOW.

[@harlint1233]

Wow very fun layout. Many different aspects to operations to fun. If there's any such thing in modeling.

[@tommythomason6187]

What a layout! Now, I gotta learn about Chicago Great Western. I read a Trains Magazine article on this road back in the 80s. Weren't they big on piggyback service back in the 50s and 60s? Magazine had a photo of F units hauling an old fashioned piggyback train. Might have been Chicago and Eastern Illinois. Long time ago. Layout has such bright, positive colors - really green grass and underbrush. Very realistic how there are weeds growing around the bases of the rusty chain-link fences. It was a pre'-"Weed Wacker" era, lol. Telephone poles and such, lining the edge of the layout where that GP30-led train was rolling, is a nice touch. Gives it symmetry, you might say. Giant trestle and water tower are striking!

[@jeffreymcfadden9403]

I was in chicago last november catching 4014, and during the trip we passed under the CGW rail trail.(Former CGW chic. main) almost nothing exists of former CGW. Back in 1978 I caught a CNW train in twin cities. FP7,F3B. The F3B was former CGW. Was also the only F3B I ever saw running. The FP7 is on display near des moines.

[@tommythomason6187]

@@jeffreymcfadden9403 Fascinating. I have fond memories of the Southern FP7s. They mainly worked freights in the late 70s, but were used in excursion service also. Been onboard SR E8, #6901. It led the last northbound Southern Crescent into DC, before Amtrak assumed that route.

[@arthurkallansrud1950]

I was raised in Ft.Dodge . We lived on 2 Ave.South and 7 Ave North . Dad worked at Hormel till he retired after 30 years. So I know the Central Ave and 21 street station and water tower.

[@Kmaster2007]

The layout looks great!

[@bradley.reim22]

Great OPS Session

[@davidcurtis5398]

Very nice layout. May I ask a question?? How did you get such wonderful spaces next to the tracks in the roadway??? I've never seen such wonderful spacing. At 6:41 it looks like this was made of card stock embossed with a brick pattern. Am I right?? What ever it is, it was done right..But the track clearance across the street at 7:25 is also so very nice.