Great looking layouts

Super Layout! I enjoyed that ride. thanks for posting!

Wow is right. Some of the most phenomenal modeling I have ever seen. Simply spectacular. Beautifully produced video accompanied by a fabulous score. Words can't appropriately describe what seen here. Thanks so much for posting, it made my day.

Great video; great layout.

The first layout shown belongs to Barry Bogs. You can see him and his son Blake in the video. We belong to the same church and I've gotten to know them very well over the years as a part of our model railroad club. I've operated on that layout many times. It is the entire second story of their house which is about 1500 sq ft or so. He tore down walls and built trestles over the 2 story entryway! It is 1/22.5 scale. Everything is hand built. From the hand laid track (code 250 rail) to the buildings to the engines and cars. The L131 took him a year to build. It's a sight to see!

The second layout belongs to Craig Brantley. I'm a part of his operating crew and run the railroad during fall open houses. I've helped with some of his scenery. I helped with the canyon that you see that is snow covered. His is mostly On3 with a loop of standard O. It is all code 100 track. The switches are handlaid but the track is Micro Engineering flex track. This layout is above his 3 car detached garage.

The third layout shown starts where you see the cattle and the Westside Lumber Company Shay going by. This layout is HOn3 and is north of Houston in College Station. Sadly I had nothing to do with that one.

The 4th layout shown is where the text pops up showing HO/HOn3. This is Eddie Carol's layout. It is right near Hobby Airport. I've helped him quite a bit on this one. This layout is pure amazing. His train room is 3000 sq ft. It is the second story of his 9000 sq ft home! The layout is entirely dual level and they connect. Running a train around the full loop takes a full hour! The painted backdrops are by a man named Barry. I don't remember his last name but it's not the same Barry from the first layout. They are by far the best painted backdrops that I've ever seen. Much of this layout is still under construction. All switches are handlaid with flextrack between.

The Sn3 layout belongs to Mike Spoor. He's on the south side of town. This layout is also above a garage. It is absolutely stunning. One of my favorites. His track is all hand laid as well.

The Stony Creek and Western is a legendary layout here built by Gil Freitag. He and his wife Virginia can be seen on the couch at about 8:15. His house started out as a 1 story. It's now a 2 story with the second story being the layout. It has been continuously added to for almost 50 years. It is mostly HO standard gauge but has a section of narrow gauge. All of his track is handlaid. His rocks are better than any I've seen. There are even fault lines and different rock layers. He didn't just use molds. Gil has a couple of original Gorre and Daphetid cars on his layout. I love visiting this one. It's only a few minutes drive from Eddie Carol's layout. Gil is also a part of the Houston Area Live Steamers.

We may not have much in the way of O Scale here but we do have lots of incredible modelers and model railroads.

wonderful imagination

Thank you for your detailed synopsis. Beautiful work by all.

Russ

Thanks for sharing. Might be planning a road trip!!

Thank you Russ I really enjoyed it.

Wow is right! 

Thanks for posting.  And what a great promo.  Really well made.

Very impressive work. Thanks for sharing.

Awesome - this promo makes me want to go to the show!

Wow!  I have a son living in Houston, what a nice excuse to visit him.  

Thanks for posting Russ, all those layouts were top notch!  

I used to model narrow gauge back in the '80's.  Started with LGB, went to American Large Scale narrow gauge and ended in Sn3 PBL equipment. 

I attended a few NG conventions.  They were well worth it.  There was always some of the best molding I have ever seen, easy to get hooked.

Simply amazing.  at the 4:20-4:30 mark, what kind of ground cover is that?  looks like sand and dirt.  I absolutely love that scenery.  can you share what type of products were used to get that look?

Excellent video Russ.  Thanks for posting.  While I have mostly 3-rail these days, I still have one On30 train for a logging branch up a mountain on a layout that is yet to be designed.  I always like narrow gauge.  Did some HOn3 along with HO too at one time.  The convention should be a good one.

Very impressive video.  Many great ideas present while watching it.  Loved the fascia work especially.

Art

That's got to be the best convention promo video I've ever seen!

Great modeling, thanks for sharing Russ

Andy