What does an NMRA President's Layout Look Like? Roy Masterson's Southern Railway Cherokee Division

[@bats2rrailroads]

James, thanks for the great video of my layout! Your camera work is amazing! And I appreciate all the nice compliments from everyone.

[@jlwii2000]

thanks for allowing me to visit Roy!

[@roberttrains8696]

@@bats2rrailroads nice layout Mr. Roy!!

[@obvious2886]

The level of polish from the sides of the layout, and all the furnishings really help complete the whole look

[@jlwii2000]

yes fits well into it's surroundings for sure!

[@josephwoehlerii2855]

Amazing detail, the sense of nostalgic eyewitness reproduction seasons that layout thoroughly, thanks JLWii for taking the time and making the effort in sharing, love the video!

[@conrailfan6277]

Great video James, and thank you Roy for sharing your layout!!

[@cncpgreatlakesdiv4896]

Awesome layout thanks for sharing.😊😊😊👍👍👍

[@michaelwhite7275]

WOW!!! Impressive layout indeed.

[@joep4235]

Really fun tour, thanks guys !!!

[@ronaldrondeau7870]

thanks for the tour James great layout

[@davidbrown4823]

Incredible layout.

[@sharonmartin2325]

I'm in California I stumbled across this amazing video Very mesmerizing and therapeutic journey With much Appreciation for the detail, time and effort given from Start to Finish Very tedious and meticulous work of Art Thank you.... Continue with you Creations and Passion Thanks for Sharing 🌹

[@OldcampRanch]

Fantastic layout, lots of fun to watch and enjoy. Happy new year 👍🏻

[@paulkirkmanMYTRAINS]

My Mom grew up in Rockwood, TN and I was born in Huntsville, AL !!!!! I wanted to model an area from Rockwood to Chantanooga, TN including the Kingston power plant. Great video !!!!!

[@randallfawc7501]

The "covered wagons" are my favs. F and E series!

[@stevenfolino8678]

Outstanding layout!

[@JerseyBill-x9r]

Very interesting layout thanks for the tour.

[@jlwii2000]

no problem!

[@scrooem]

Strong Work!

[@denisebasile3813]

Beautiful an amazing 👍👍🚂🚆🚂🚆

[@andychandler153]

Wonderful layout

[@jlwii2000]

yep!

[@randydobson1863]

Hi James & Hello Roy & it's is Randy and i like yours Video is Cool & Thanks James & Roy & Friends Randy & Hello James & Roy & Happy New Year's & The Best in The New Year's 2025

[@canadianlocomotivelogistics]

Nice video James.

[@daviddryden8088]

Thank God the layout is "entirely" HO. Nothing ruins the illusion of model railroading more than when a layout suddenly shifts to G scale.

[@roberttrains8696]

Good video James Roy has a nice looking layout. Hey James you going to have a layout tour at your house in 2026. For our National convention??? Thanks for sharing. Robert

[@BrianFord-i4o]

Roy's HO layout is great to operate on, modeling the SOU (CNO&TP) between Harriman TN through Chattanooga to Decatur AL. Includes identical 7 track staging yards at each end (Decatur and Harriman), double tracked 4.5 turn helix in the middle between Scottsboro and Bridgeport), 9 track stub-ended classification yard (Citico - Chattanooga), 4 busy towns to switch a lot of industries (Rockwood, Tiftonia, Bridgeport, Huntsville), and 30" min radius on the main. All turnouts are manual PECO #5. See trackplan in the comments on the NMRA Facebook post that shared Roy's video. Come see it during the NMRA National Convention July 26-Aug 2, 2026

[@TheAProhl]

Great looking equipment and layout. Unfortunate the speeds are all over the place

[@bats2rrailroads]

Thanks for the compliment. Unfortunately shooting a video of a train running on a layout in 3 rooms of my basement can be a challenge. I would run the train until we got the shot we needed and back the train up after James moved the camera to film the train from a different angle or location on the railroad. Not exactly easy to get the same speed in every shot with 4 Sd40-2's powered with sound pulling a 12' coal train running from a standing position. And with a limited timeframe to shoot the video. But hope you enjoyed the overall effect.

[@TheNorthwestWind]

my 2 rail dads

[@MrBillCNW]

What city and what state is this layout located and is it open to the public?

[@jlwii2000]

I don't think it's open to the public but it's located in Southeast TN. It may be on the layout tour list of the NMRA 2026 show however!

[@roberttrains8696]

@@MrBillCNW Chattanooga, Tennessee

[@MrBillCNW]

@@roberttrains8696 Thank you beautiful layout

[@MrBillCNW]

@@jlwii2000 Thank you

[@williamwehmeier443]

But do you really need 4 SD -40s for 16 cars?🤔

[@robmagu65]

Amazing layout, but you’re definitely not running prototypical speeds!

[@GreenSteam333]

Who asked you?

[@jlwii2000]

I'm not running, the layout owner is while I do the video.

[@bats2rrailroads]

@@robmagu65 I chose to run at a slower pace so you could see scenery and structures as well as the coal train. Trains I see on the prototype between Harriman and Decatur aren’t going full out on speed. Kinda hilly and curvy in this part of the country.