To All: Today a couple of interlocking towers. Davis Jct. Tower was near a grain elevator, so I placed it near one on the E. St. Louis Rail Group Layout. It is scratchbuilt from a photo.

A view down a isle of my HO triple deck layout.

Top left: Nora Branch                    Top right: Fremont Branch

Middle left: Dante Yard                  Middle right: Delano Siding

I'm running out of smart titles for these posts. I will be posting this kind of stuff for weeks to come. I have decided to complete all the subroadbed for the whole railroad to get all the dirty woodcutting done. I have used this approach before and it has so far always worked for me. 

So again: more subroadbed. I have finished the first peninsula and about 40 feet along 2 walls. The second peninsula will come next.

Hope you all enjoy the pictures!

I have been an almost life long N-scale modeler.  My first train set was HO but it wasn't long till I gravitated to N and I've pretty much been an N -scale guy for the entire thirty four years I've been a "serious" model rail. Unfortunately though at the ripe old age of forty nine, I find that there are factors that have conspired against me where I no longer can continue to model in N. I have a bit of shakiness in my hands from meds I take and my eyesight isn't getting any better with age.

To All: Another of the scratchbuilt interlocking towers on the E. St. Louis Rail Group layout is Bixby Interlocking Tower at the entrance to Missouri Avenue Yard. Here is a pix attachment of Bixby Tower.

To All: All the interlocking towers on the E. St. Louis Rail Group layout were scratchbuilt by me from photos in a TRRA Historical Society publication. Here is an attached photo of the Interlocking tower at Valley Jct.

To All: One of the railroads on the E. St. Louis Rail Group Layout is the Cotton Belt. The Blue Streak Merchandise is  the premier train that ran on the prototype Cotton Belt , so is it on the layout. This train carried time sensitive auto parts and LCL freight. I painted, lettered, weathered and dullcoated this shell for use on a Proto 2000 chassis,  to pull the BSM. After this pix was taken I installed window glass, grab irons, couplers, cut bars, etc.

This is part 2 of the trip across the Alleghany Division of the C & O.  This railroad operates on Time Table. 

Hi All,

Well today I started the final sections of track work for the JL&T.  These being the L&T Branch and the remaining section connecting the JL&T module to the centre peninsula.

To All: Another locomotive run on the E. St. Louis Rail Group Layout is an RS-3 Litchfield & Madison one.I painted, lettered, weathered and dullcoated it.  The decals are by Champion.

Yours, Elvin Howland/E. St. Louis Rail Group