A
Model Railroad Built by Robert Jones & Dennis Dye
© 2000
Robert C. Jones
In the spring of 1998, Robert Jones & Dennis Dye began
building an HO-scale model railroad in the basement of Robert’s house.
Working mostly Sunday afternoons, the layout was operational by Spring
2000.
The layout measures 8’x10’, and has a removable center.
It is 48” off the ground, and it is possible to walk entirely around
the table.
The theme of the layout is “things we think are cool
about the South”. One end of the
layout is the town of Kennesaw, Georgia, home of the Civil War locomotive
“General”. Recognizable
structures include the Lacy Hotel, the Depot, the old hardware store/Masonic
Lodge, Kennesaw Trains & Hobbies, the old Methodist Church and Wildman’s
Civil War Surplus Shop. We are also
working on a scale model of the Kennesaw Civil War Museum.
The other end of the layout is a representation of Sloss
Furnace, and the Birmingham industrial district. Dividing the layout is a mountain that, on the Kennesaw side
represents Kennesaw Mountain, and on the Birmingham side, represents Ruffner
Mountain.
Locomotives on the layout span the period from 1862 to today, and include:
This booklet contains photos of the finished layout, as well as photos of the construction steps along the way. A final section discusses the operational characteristics of the layout (which is entirely computer-controlled).
Robert
Jones, summer 1998
Dennis
Dye, summer 1998
Dennis
Dye, 1999. Sometimes things got a
little complicated…
Construction
of Kennesaw Mountain/Ruffner Mountain
Sloss
Furnace, before any scenery or yard track was laid
Robert
Jones, November 2000
The
old hardware store, Wildman’s Civil War Surplus Shop and (across the street)
Kennesaw Trains & Hobbies
Textile
Mill in nearby Acworth, GA (constructed out of hydrocal)
The
Old Methodist Church. The “General” steams by.
Warehouse,
made out of hydrocal. The top of
the Kennesaw Civil War Museum gazebo is in the foreground.
The
Lacy Hotel and the Kennesaw Depot. A
NC&St.L steam engine is in front of the Lacy Hotel.
Backyards
in Kennesaw. Also shows W&A passenger cars.
Main
Street, Kennesaw, GA
Local
park
Sloss
Furnace, with a NC&St.L 4-8-2 on the left, and a L&N switcher on the
right
Company
housing at Sloss Furnace
Three
generations of locomotives at Sloss Furnace: a modern CSX diesel, a Southern
stream locomotive, and a Central of Georgia Alco
Stairway
at coke oven
Furnace
yard and coke oven
Coke
oven with Amtrak train passing by
“Ruffner
Mountain Drive-In”, with fully-operational screen
Sloss
Furnace
As much work went into wiring the layout as went into
laying track, building structures, and creating scenery. The layout is entirely based on DCC (Digital Command
Control), and uses a laptop computer to control all functions, including
locomotives, lighting, and turnouts. With
the combination of DCC and computer control, it is possible to fully automate
operations.
Interesting features include a fully operational traffic light, furnace lights, and a drive-in movie theater that shows real movies (using a DVD player under the table).
Wiring
under the table
Digitrax
DCC booster
The
HP OmniBook 5700 that controls all operations
Computer
representation of the layout (l). Locomotive
speed and direction controls are on the right and top.
Special thanks to Peter Youngblood of Kennesaw Trains & Hobbies, for all of his advice and encouragement.