The San Jacinto MRRC sponsors layout tours every November.  So many outstanding layouts are open.  Link to the tour list is here. https://sanjacmodeltrains.org/

bill

So, I hosted a couple sessions for the local Chicagoland RPM meet in Oct, but due to poor weather, distance, and maybe some mix-ups in signup, had no takers.  But some local guys came by to help host, and we ended up having a great time.

An early goal of the layout was to enable night lighting, and perhaps even operating at night.  With the addition of a few penlights, we actually did operate - nearly 1.5 hrs - and had a blast.  It's hard to photograph in the dark, but here's some photos.

https://northcountrytrains.wordpress.com/2019/10/25/some-work-done/

This week I installed a light switch to control the power to a staging track. It works great, so I’ll be getting more the the other tracks.

The ATSF Paradigm Division is a freelance prototype N-Scale model railroad that depicts the Santa Fe railroad during the transition era in and around Kansas City Union Station as well as some portions of Kansas and Oklahoma. Some of the other railroads that interchanged with the Santa Fe at Union Station are also modeled, such as the Union Pacific, Missouri Pacific, CB&Q, Wabash, Milwaukee Road plus the REA Express.

The layout, located in a custom Tuff Shed behind my home, has been under construction since late 2012 with trains being able to run the full layout in 2016.  It is a project that keeps me busy during my retirement. This tour is done in two parts the first video provides an overview of the details of the layout, e.g., size, track used, DCC type, etc., as well as all of the cities and towns on the Main Level. The second video Part 2 of the layout tour describes how the staging level supports moving trains to and from the main level. To do this, the Santa Fe's Grand Canyon passenger train is used as an example showing how it moves from staging to the main level and back to staging. Then the tour shows an overview of each portion of the staging level to tie everything together.