Trainfest Videos From The
39th Model Railroad Show In Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

America's Largest Operating Model Railroad Show

A record attendance of 23,476 over the November 13-14, 2010 weekend is a good indicator of how popular these annual model railroad shows are. It's incredible to attend a show that feaures upwards of 70 operating layouts and exhibits in practically every scale from Z to G and beyond. The show is organized by the Wisconsin Southeastern Division (WISE) of the National Model Railroad Association (NMRA). I travelled to Milwaukee with a dozen modellers from the Niagara Frontier Region's (NFR) Central Ontario Division (COD) to participate in a Crafstman's Corner where we demonstrate various modelling skills and do clinics.

I will post more videos here over the next month. Still photos will be posted on separate pages. Check back or add me to your RSS feed to be alerted when I add new material.

We had the opportunity to visit some other excellent model railroad layouts during the weekend. Some of these were on the National Convention Tour in July. The first one we visited was Mark Preussler's Soo Line. Mark has done a fabulous job modelling many familiar Soo Line spots like Fond de Lac, Waupaca, Dale, Medina Junction, Neenah and Oshkosh. His railroad occupies appoximately 42 X 25 feet in the basement. It is run with NCE Procabs and uses RailOp operations with switchlists. Below is a photo of the barge operations. Many other photos will be found in the Trainfest photos collections. The 5-minute video follows.

*Float apron on Mark Preussler's HO scale Soo Line*

Larger scale layouts

Here's a video of many of the larger scale layouts: Lionel O-27, O scale, G scale garden, etc and an amazing race set up for the kids.

Some of the HO and N scale layouts

The next set in these Trainfest videos is of some of the N scale modular layouts on display. Some really long trains!

More Trainfest videos

Here's a video of modular model train layouts in different scales: Z, O, O-27 Lionel, S, ON30 and a spinning railroad. If you're an O-gauger and want some good information about looking after your trains, check out this O scale trains website.

We had supper at Lee and Gloria Bauer's home in Racine, Wisconsin and had the opportunity to see their HO scale North Western Lines. This is an exceptionally well done model railroad with terrific urban scenery. Loads of detail. Gloria does the figures that are everywhere. The layout occupies a 13 X 24 foot space in their basement.

Our next visit was to Burnell Breaker's Lionel Lines, Belle City Division. This O and O27 train layout occupies an area of approximately 45 X 12 feet. This provides good running room for these larger trains. The trackwork is by Gargraves. There are lots of vintage pieces of equipment and scenic items. The railroad is fun to watch and to operate. He uses a timetable. I picked up a copy of Timetable No. 2 effective August 19, 2010 at 12:01 am CDT. The end of the video has a few short clips of his son's British-style HO layout.

One of the best layouts I have ever seen was the Midwest Lines designed and built by Rolf Plachter. This is an HO scale layout that is a very impressive 52 by 33 feet. That's a larger footprint than most people's homes. What is even more amazing is that Rolf started the layout in 1966! He is a terrific modeler and the railroad is a treat to see. Look for the Midwest Lines for more info and photos. This video should wet your appetite for more. It sure did mine.