Skip to main content

This is another Something For Fun topic.

The reason I'm posting it now is that after having a layout for approximately 25 years without a name, the perfect name for it just popped into my head.

Before I disclose it, let's first see your answers to these questions: do you have a name for your layout and, if so, what is it?

You can also explain why you gave your layout a name, and maybe show some photos that may help explain why.

Arnold

Last edited by Arnold D. Cribari
Original Post

Replies sorted oldest to newest

Arnold leave to you with these topics!! I first call my layout the Lost Cause Railroad since it was never finished and looked like it never would be. Then we moved into a new house with a much more useable basement. I started a new layout thinking I would keep the name but some S Gauge folks wanted to stop by and the leader of the group put a little video thogether to send out prior to the visit and he gave my layout-it a new name. I will let the video explain it all. The layout is 4 ties the size shown in the video but still no where near finished, not even wired completely but can run trains.

Attachments

Videos (1)
E30CE31D-D700-4ADE-BA57-0A095576B866.medium
Last edited by RJT

Another thread that stirs the conscious mind Arnold!  Bravo!!

My railroad is named the Free State Junction Railway.  Why:  I live in Maryland and wanted to create a transition era layout that modeled railroads, both Class 1 and short lines, that were active in Maryland post WW Two.  

Maryland is nicknamed "The Free State" which was quipped from a 1923 Baltimore Sun Newspaper editorial opposing the Prohibition.  In that editorial the author proclaimed that Maryland should leave the union and become a "free state'.  Since then "free state" has become the state's motto.  What better place to unite 4 class one and 4 short line railroads than at a junction ... and that junction happens to be The Free State Junction Railway.  Those eight railroads are B&O, Pennsylvania, Western Maryland, N&W, MA & PA, Baltimore and Annapolis, Canton Railroad, and Patapsco and Back Rivers.  fullsizeoutput_4a4fullsizeoutput_4de

Attachments

Images (2)
  • fullsizeoutput_4a4
  • fullsizeoutput_4de

My layout is the "Ozark Sub".

You see, I model a small portion of my mythical Kansas City & Gulf's Ozark Subdivision. I model the ruling northbound grade that the KC&G faces at the town of Ozarka. Leaving Ozarka, the main line encounters the hard pull up through Possum Creek Hollow, swings away from the Possum Creek Hollow to enter Buck Mountain Hollow, and continues the climb on the side of Buck Mountain to the summit of same at a location known as Piney Gap. Along the way the rails pass through the stations of Sawmill Spur, Jack Fork, Rock Switch, Piney (the summit of Buck Mountain at Piney Gap), and the town of Mountain Springs.

Two stages feed trains to/from the above modeled portion of the layout: The lower level south stage (Clarksville Yard) and the upper level north stage (Branson Yard).

I, along with one or two of my model railroad friends at a time, enjoy operating the layout as if it were an actual prototype.

Andre

Another thread that stirs the conscious mind Arnold!  Bravo!!

My railroad is named the Free State Junction Railway.  Why:  I live in Maryland and wanted to create a transition era layout that modeled railroads, both Class 1 and short lines, that were active in Maryland post WW Two.  

Maryland is nicknamed "The Free State" which was quipped from a 1923 Baltimore Sun Newspaper editorial opposing the Prohibition.  In that editorial the author proclaimed that Maryland should leave the union and become a "free state'.  Since then "free state" has become the state's motto.  What better place to unite 4 class one and 4 short line railroads than at a junction ... and that junction happens to be The Free State Junction Railway.  Those eight railroads are B&O, Pennsylvania, Western Maryland, N&W, MA & PA, Baltimore and Annapolis, Canton Railroad, and Patapsco and Back Rivers.  fullsizeoutput_4a4fullsizeoutput_4de

Patrick, after reading your post, I got a tremendous craving for an ice cold beer (and I don't drink much). I wonder why. LOL.

Great name.

Arnold

Great names so far.

Can't weight to learn the layout names of our other Forum friends. Alan Arnold? Don Klose? Phil Klopp? Jim Policastro? Just to name a few.

Now, I will disclose my layout name. Interestingly, I never had any particular interest in giving my layout a name, until today. Then, it mysteriously popped into my head.

Drum roll please. Here it is: "Arnold's Fields of Dreams:"

20210827_222417

20200404_112019

20190831_051739

IMG_0586[1)

20191224_060821

20191228_143031

20210603_093634



20201212_155347

Attachments

Images (7)
  • 20200404_112019
  • 20190831_051739
  • IMG_0586(1)
  • 20191224_060821
  • 20191228_143031
  • 20210603_093634
  • 20201212_155347
Videos (1)
20210531_092122

WWRR, which stands for Wrong Way RR. I built a work shop and covered patio, which was designed to include a shelf layout consisting of 2 interconnected lops with a tunnel entrance into the shop to a 2 track staging area. There are 4 switches; one to split the staging tracks, and 3 to interconnect the 2 loops. Even with a detailed instruction sheet, a always managed to have at least 1 switch in the wrong position, causing a derailment or wreck, hence the name WWRR. Below is a link to a short video of a coal drag I ran recently. My 2 yr old grand daughter loves blowing the whistle on the steamer and horns and bells on the diesels.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iq5ggHusJtw

I've named my 3 rail o scale Layout the Sunset Island Railroad. The reason is that when the sun rises, its morning light glows through one of by basement windows, lighting up the whole layout. I personally think Sunset Island flows a bit better than Sunrise Island......

Behind my logo: In 2010 my Grandfather introduced me into this amazing hobby by gifting me a Lionel Pennsylvania Flyer starter set. I later learned that he worked with the Pennsy as a Turntable Operator in the Elmira NY Yard around 1952. I have created my channel not only to share my experiences and passion for Lionel (and mth) trains, but to honor my grandfather and a love for the standard railroad of the world we both shared during his time on earth.

My layout features mythical  Sueher Specific Lines, an old abandoned SP branch line bought and reopened by equally fictitious Sueher City. This tiny metropolis has for decades been under the terra cotta grip of a Bavarian immigrant, Adolph  Bernhard Sueher, mayor, and CEO of Sueher Pipe Organ Builders, N.L.C., the city’s only employer. It’s all a spoof on my former career in the pipe organ performance and installing world. The name Sueher (pronounced, yes,  “sewer”) was thought up by my wife one evening while we were on the way to midweek choir practice. Almost caused an accident on the freeway.18-DSC_0014_01

Attachments

Images (1)
  • 18-DSC_0014_01

Arnold and other Layout-Namers:

I built my L-shaped home layout for enjoyment by my two young great grandsons (Matthew, now nearly 8) and Hudson (just turned 7). I toyed with naming it for them as: MH&GG RR (Matthew, Hudson, & Great Grandpa Railroad), but they were more interested in pushing all the control buttons for the many operating accessories than running trains around the fixed roiutes of the layout.

Since they seemed more involved with the Lionel Chief equipped THOMAS series trains (THOMAS, PERCY, JAMES, and DIESEL),  perhaps I should have invented a Sodor-friendly name. An up-and-coming great granddaughter (Olivia, now 3) may suggest a RR layout name that will "stick."

With 20/20 hindsight, I should have named the layout ROCK ISLAND REVISITED because most of my O-gauge train collection was focused on that railroad; it served my home town (Peoria, IL) when I was a boy in the 1940s-50s. I sold nearly all of my RI-oriented collection years ago via Stout Auctions, but kept a few RI trains as mementos for display -- as shown.

More or less recently, I purchased a "shelf queen" train set (a Rock Island TA diesel passenger set by Sunset 3rd Rail) and later on a MTH Aerotrain with RI décor through a seller via eBay. then added more RI coaches for a full consist of 10 coaches as per the prototype -- the PEORIA ROCKET.

Mike Mottler    LCCA 12394

Attachments

Images (5)
  • MHM with Trains 2: RI Trains on three lowest shelves
  • TA Debut on the Rails at ATH, 10-23-19: Inaugural Run of RI TA diesel at ATH store layout in Bald Knob, AR
  • Aerotrain Foto 9, Consist: MTH Aerotrain with RI décor - 10 coaches
  • E-W Platform: The East-West leg of my L-shaped layout with two levels
  • N-S Platform: The North-South leg of my L-shaped layout with two levels

My layout is named the Sunrise Mountain & Western Railroad (or SM&W RR for short). I called it that because of where I live. I'm from Las Vegas, Nevada, and I still live there. I live on the east side of town near a mountain called Sunrise Mountain, so that's where the first part of the layout name comes from. The Western part of the name is because I love western US railroads, especially the Santa Fe, BNSF, Southern Pacific, and Union Pacific.

My "Not-So-Great-Eastern R.R." aka The Never Done Line name was inspired by the late Lorell Joiner's Great Southern. It was reading about his masterpiece that got me back into model railroading, but knowing i could never hope to duplicate his level of workmanship; hence Not-So-Great. Eastern because of my interest in the PRR, LV,and NH railroads. The Never Done Line for obvious reasons; it will never really be finished. The Southern Adirondack Railway Cartel is a very loosely structured (very unstructured) group of train enthusiasts and model railroaders here in the Southern Adirondacks who come and go, once in a while get together, more or less often.

Last edited by modeltrainsparts

My personal layout is modular and currently stacked in the shed.  For some reason the old lyric, "Living in the desert on a layout with no name..." keeps going though my head.

For all practical purposes however, the Paradise and Pacific in Scottsdale is my operating club and layout.  At this point in my life I could not hope to have the kind of space to stretch out trains as I do there.

Mine is the Norgeville Railroad. I came up with it when I had a layout as a kid. I believe I was looking on the back of the old Lionel Warranty Registration forms and I took a city and moved letters around to come up with Norgeville. I decided to keep it this time around on the new layout since the new layout really is the layout I envisioned as a kid but never had the ability to build.

Awesome thread @Arnold D. Cribari!! It's been great reading over the back stories of other members railroads!

This is another Something For Fun topic.

The reason I'm posting it now is that after having a layout for approximately 25 years without a name, the perfect name for it just popped into my head.

Before I disclose it, let's first see your answers to these questions: do you have a name for your layout and, if so, what is it?

You can also explain why you gave your layout a name, and maybe show some photos that may help explain why.

Arnold

The Colorado River, and Western.  Basically my initials. In my head it's a railroad out in southwest Colorado that has connections with UP, the Durango and Silverton, and the Cumbres and Toltec. The curves and climbs are gentle and wide enough that the Big Boy or any large locomotive can go up and down it's system. It mostly uses old 19th century locomotives, ranging from the 4-4-0 to the 4-6-0. Most of the engines are modern-day replicas of the originals, but there are a few "true" antiques that the railroad does bring out on occasion. I haven't figured out a location for a headquarters nor a year the railroad started, but I would say at least at the earliest, the 1800's.

It's still currently in the planning phase with just a simple loop of track on a 4x8 sheet of plywood.

Last edited by FutureRail Productions

I went with Cleveland & Western since, well, I live just west of Cleveland. It also went well with the NKP\N&W heritage of my local rail line. I think it's pretty solid name for a short line, and the logo I made was based on the N&W logo. It's just on a paper label on the front of the layout... but it beats calling it "the layout" or "the pike" when speaking about it more formally. Which, admittedly, happens almost never...

Add Reply

Post
×
×
×
×
Link copied to your clipboard.
×
×