SFX Whistle Music Tracks Ahead Brought to you by Rancho de Tia Rosa, a Mexican restaurant serving the Phoenix area since 1990.

Raildreams, a designer and builder of custom model railroads since 1994.

Hi, I'm Spencer Christian.

On this episode of Tracks Ahead, we'll check out an S gauge layout in the bay area that recreates some of the industry of New York state.

We'll explore the recreation of a major toy train display of the late 1950's, and visit a steam tourist line in Delaware, which has rebounded from being all but wiped out in back to back hurricanes.

If you could combine a tremendous love of garden railroading, with a sizeable investment, an incredible amount of building and design knowledge, and a giant beautiful backyard.well, you'd have the ingredients for one tremendous layout.

Let's go to Arizona and check out a gentleman who had the ingredients, and put together a recipe for one fantastic display.

Annc: Dennis Sirrine has been successful at nearly everything he's done.

He made money and a name for himself in the homebuilding and design business, and would occasionally include a large model train layout as a part of the home design.

He's well known here in Mesa, Arizona where he runs a popular Mexican restaurant.

But it's in his backyard that Dennis has made his dreams come true.

He has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars, and many years, building one of the largest garden railroads in the country.. and get this, he's not sure he's even done yet.

There are nearly four thousand feet of track winding through his large back yard.

On this fantasy railroad he runs as many of the hundreds of cars in his collection that he can.

He calls it the Palo Verde & Southwestern Railroad, but we simply call it fantastic.

Dennis: Back when I was a general contractor we would take these plywood boards and make shelves about 12 inches wide and place them at door level height and secure them to the ceiling.

We then added track, put the trains on and run them through several rooms of the house.

It was a big hit.

People loved seeing the trains running through their house.

When we started building the railroad in January of 2004 my backyard was just a flat piece of dirt.

And so I realized, I'm also looking at layouts around the country, the best ones were the ones that were raised up.

You could see more from a level height as opposed to when you got down on your hands and knees.

So this layout is built at a minimum of 30 inches going up to 6 feet in some areas off the ground.

So there's a lot of dirt brought into this project to build up these areas.

Probably around a 1000 cubic yards of dirt was brought in to raise the layout up and make it more visible from a standing position.

Annc: The building process has been time consuming, laborious and expensive.

More so than Dennis had ever been imagined.

We followed it for years, as interested as anyone in what it would take to complete such an undertaking.

But it has been a labor of love, with an end result that is stunningly impressive.

There are twists and turns, and lakes and rivers.

Everything is smooth, everything flows.

It is easy to look at, easy to enjoy.

It's almost like a scaled down version of a combination of real railroads, and real landscapes.

And that realism, is exactly what Dennis was shooting for.

Dennis: I don't know if any part was difficult.

Being in the construction industry for 17 years I had the credentials to build this, the talents to build it.

But a lot of stuff was done twice.

We built it, realized it wasn't quite right, and we had to tear it out and put it in again.

I'd say probably half this layout was put in, torn up, and put back in again because it wasn't done right.

Or we got the wrong information from somebody to do it a certain way and it didn't turn out.

So that was probably the most challenging.

Doing it twice, instead of doing it once.

If I had to do this all over again, I wouldn't run a thousand feet of wire and ten thousand feet of conduit to make it electrical.

I would definitely go battery from square one.

The engineering aspects of putting all this in was pretty trying.

So right now we have a combination of battery, and a combination of track power mode.

Which is kind of good because a lot of people that come to the layout don't have battery powered locomotives, so that can run their electrical locomotives on the layout.

The turnouts, or switches was probably the biggest obstacle I had to overcome on this layout.

Checking other layouts around the nation, I realized they were using electrical turnouts, which is probably the most popular aspect of going.

They were getting corroded, they were having electrical problems, they weren't working.

And so I decided, how can I make my switches be reliable in the Arizona sun day in and day out.

So I came across this company called California and Oregon Coast Railway, out of Oregon.

that makes air-powered switches.

So I got hooked up with this particular manufacturer's switches, installed my railroad with a compressor, and its been pure bliss ever since.

I've had no problems operating a switch or a turnout since I went to air-powered switches.

Annc: Watching Dennis work his layout, is like watching an artist or an architect admire his creation.

There are some things, he is most proud of.

Dennis: Probably two things come to mind.

Fist of all, we laser leveled all of our track.

And so this track is dead right on straight and dead right on level.

When you go to a grade it's a typical smooth transition up and smooth transition down.

In fact I've had a couple of people dome to the layout and place video camera on flatcars and run them around the layout and they can't believe how smooth the track runs when they do that.

So that's one thing I'm real proud of is the level track.

The second thing I'm real proud of is the mountains.

We've accomplished a great system of taking these flat concrete panels that look like particulate rock.

Break them up, and put them in situations, grout them, and stain them to make them look like a real rock sculpture out in the desert.

And I'm really proud of that fact there, too.

MUSIC & Sfx MUSIC & Sfx MUSIC & Sfx MUSIC & Sfx MUSIC & Sfx MUSIC & Sfx MUSIC & Sfx Annc: Dennis says the main part of his layout is almost done.

A few more buildings, some figures, a little more landscaping.

But he's already talking about expansion, making it even bigger and better.

They say that if there is something you really want, than it's worth working for, and worth waiting for.

For Dennis Sirrine, building the Palo Verde and Southwestern has been a big job which forced him to travel a long road from concept to completion.

But, as is often the case in life, it's the journey that makes the destination that much more enjoyable.

Work is on-going at the Palo Verde and Western.

Dennis has plans to expand even further.

Many model railroads fail to take into account a purpose for their existence.

Real railroads serve the needs of industry.

Let's visit a man who incorporated that ingredient into his plans.

Annc: One of the biggest decisions a model railroader has to make before laying down the first piece of track is, " What industry will the layout feature? "

Most people settle on one or two areas of interest.

But not Ed Loizeaux.

His 20 by 30 foot S-gauge train room hosts five industries.

There's the dairy section; the coal-mining corner; the "Foggy Hollow Logging Camp"; a Petroleum operation; and a steel mill.

All of these industries rely on trains to either receive their raw materials or to ship their products out to consumers.

And all of them are situated near the Hudson River, running from the Palisades cliffs just outside of New York City through rural towns in Upstate to Albany.

The mighty Hudson serves as link between the five industries on this ambitious layout.

Ed: The layout is based on the Catskill Mountains mainly because I lived in that area as a child.

I grew up in the area, I think it's a beautiful part of the country, it's very picturesque, a perfect setting for a model RR layout.

The corners of the room were kind of a tough challenge.

We have these broad radius curves for the main line, which leaves little triangular places in the corners.

And I filled those areas in with industries such as a coal mine and a logging area and an oil refinery and so forth, to provide switching opportunities for the trains.

Annc: Like many men who have made model railroading their hobby, Ed can trace his interest back to memorable times he spent with his Dad.

There are two areas in the layout that pay special tribute to Ed's father, and the first one is here in the petroleum industry section.

The senior Loizeaux worked for Mobil for almost 40 years, so Ed added these details in his honor.

Although it's not seen, New York City is just around the bend of the Hudson.and if you follow the backdrop a bit further in this direction, the plumes of smoke lead you to the next industry: steel.

This bustling area has warehouses, factories, a flourmill and another Mobil station.

It's adjacent to the old part of town, whose "seedier side" includes a tattoo parlor and a boarding house.

Just up the road from the steel mill, an unfortunate driver has had a run in with a guardrail and a tow truck waits in the wings.

Nearby, a passenger station in town connects to the main line where we follow it to Peekskill, a small upstate New York town.

Following the tracks leads to a waterfall area where trains go over a large silver bridge - made out of over 6500 pieces of plastic.

Ed is particularly proud of the water scenes on his layout.

There are hikers at the base of the waterfall and deer graze in the park.

The lake was made of masonite and covered with many layers of wax to create a wet-looking surface.

Many friends and crafts people helped Ed create individual components of the layout, but Ed built this stone arch viaduct himself.

The other industries in this layout include one of New York state's dairy concerns where a cooling tower, ice house, and coal-powered boiler all add to the scene's authenticity.

There are several kinds of bulk milk cars, which are insulated glass-lined containers designed to keep the milk fresh and cold.

As we move up the tracks from the dairy, we come to the "Foggy Hollow Logging Camp" where 2 spar poles load logs onto steam-powered railroad cars.

Ed: The lumber operation is quite unique since I've modeled the entire process from the cutting of the trees down to the shipping of finished cut lumber to a customer.

The process includes traveling down the railroad trains down to the sawmill, dumping the logs into a pond, lifting them onto a sawmill conveyor, cutting them up, pushing them up a narrow gauge railroad to the loading and storage area, and then loading it onto a freight train for delivery to the big city.

So we've covered the entire process from the cutting of the tree to the finishing of the cut lumber.

Annc: Ed has quite a collection of cars that reflect his appreciation of both history and the trains that helped create that history.

There are a number of World War II military trains that include an unusual hospital car with doctors and nurses and an ambulance car.

And as a nod of appreciation to railroad workers, Ed has a steam-powered work train that features living quarters.

Ed: A true model RR is never finished!

My future plans include finishing up the electronics wiring so that I can use DCC to control the locomotives.

I have some staging yards under construction at the moment, which will be in a different room, an adjacent room, so that the trains can enter onto the layout proper through a hole in the wall, and circle the layout and exit back out to the staging yards.

So formal ops sessions will follow that where my friends will come over and we'll spend many an afternoon running the trains according to timetables and schedules.

With true professional management skills being used to keep the trains on time and on schedule.

Ed and his friends have great times with their operating sessions, which are likened to stage productions.

Good memories from days gone by are some of the most treasured things in life.

Now, imagine if you were able to bring those memories alive.

In a moment, we'll meet a man in Las Vegas, who was able to do just that.

The Red Clay Creek in Delaware has been the site of mills, quarries and some pretty dramatic weather.

Let's take a ride on a line that has weathered the storms.

Annc: Traveling through a lush and gentle landscape is a vintage railroad born of the Industrial Revolution, a time of booming business in this Delaware valley.

While the industries have faded, the scenery remains.

And today, the journey is taken purely for pleasure.

The Wilmington and Western Railroad is located just outside of Wilmington, Delaware, close to the Pennsylvania border.

The railroad was built in the late nineteenth century to service the water-powered mills that lined the Red Clay Creek.

David: There were grain mills, snuff mills, rolling mills and the railroad saw an opportunity to service these mills on their way to Landenburg, Pennsylvania.

Annc: Today, the Greenbank Mill still stands as a living history museum.

One of the early mill owners along the creek was named Dupont, a family that grew to prominence in the area, and continues to have an impact on the railroad.

David: There are several Dupont estates that are peppered throughout the valley and the railroad will actually cross two of those private estates.

"All Aboard" Annc: Since 1966, visitors have been eagerly boarding the train with their picnic fare for the daily ten mile trip from Greenbank Station to Mount Cuba, following the Red Clay Creek along the way.

David: The unique portion of this valley is that it's a location where the Piedmont and the coastal plain come together and we'll see that with the ride up the line.

We cross the river several times.

We will go through some serious, some very serious rock cuts that the railroad had to blast out in order to get through there.

The railroad line follows the Red Clay Creek so we will snake back and forth and meander to the left and to the right and to the left just to get to Mount Cuba and once we get to Mount Cuba, again it's on this private estate, it's very quiet and peaceful and we operate this small picnic grove right next to the river.

Annc: A picnic by the train is a tradition dating back to the 1890's, when the railroad brought city dwellers here for a day in the country or a visit to nearby Brandywine Springs, a Victorian amusement park that closed in 1923.

Today, with the help of eighty volunteers, the railroad operates close to four hundred excursions year-round, including a variety of seasonal events.

The flagship of the Wilmington and Western is steam engine number 98, built in 1909 by the American Locomotive Company.

David: The 98 has just recently undergone a restoration, a lot of boiler work at a cost of half a million dollars and the 98 is one of the reasons I think a lot of rail fans and people do come to see it, it's one of the few American class locomotives operating in the United States today.

Annc: Another gem in the collection is this self-propelled doodlebug, built by Pullman Standard in 1929.

David: It was operating in Pennsylvania not too far from here.

We acquired the machine in I believe it was the late '80s and had it restored through a grant from the Revere cookware corporation and that's why it's now called the Paul Revere Number 4662.

Annc: Throughout its history, the railroad has depended on its close proximity to the Red Clay Creek.

But in recent years, that relationship was put to the test when the railroad was struck by not one but two natural disasters.

The first, in 1999, when Hurricane Floyd tore through the Red Clay Valley, flooding the area.

David: As a matter of fact the location that we're standing in was probably underwater as tall as we are.

It wiped out two of our wooden trestle bridges and twisted and bent four others.

Annc: It took a year and half to repair the bridges and restore service but the railroad managed to survive its worst disaster, or so they thought.

Four years later, almost to the day, Tropical Storm Henri stalled over the Red Clay Creek, sending twelve feet of water rushing down the valley.

David: What happened in '99 was an afternoon rainstorm compared to what happened with Henri.

Annc: The flood waters took out six bridges and miles of roadbed.

But, thanks in part to David's intense fundraising, the railroad slowly recovered.

It took four long years to rebuild but today, the bridges are state-of-the art.

David: The new bridges are actually drilled into the earth, they were rock sockets drilled in sometimes as much as nine feet into the bedrock and then concrete columns poured in with steel reinforcing bars from the bottom of the bedrock.

Birthday party Annc: Today, Mount Cuba is once again a perfect spot for celebrating and relaxing, where kids young and not so young can enjoy a picnic along a peaceful waterfront, with the train, as always, nearby.

David: This railroad is a unique gem for the state of Delaware and for the surrounding community.

Annc : The train has indeed become a treasured part of this community.

The mere sight of it is cause for celebration.

Its dramatic story of survival adds yet another layer of history to the Wilmington and Western experience.

David: The scenery, the right-of-way, the beauty of what we're traveling through is unmatched on many tourist lines it's a magnificent right of way.

Music Annc: If you were a kid who was into model trains in the late 1950's, heaven would have been the New York City showroom of Lionel.

The showcase layout that Lionel designers had built in the middle of the showroom had several purposes.

It was supposed to be visually stunning.

It wasn't shy about being a sales tool used to show off Lionel products.

And, it was supposed to get people interested in the hobby.Okay, now imagine being a kid from Queens visiting that showroom over on East 26th Street.

"Wow! "

doesn't even begin to describe it.

So, years later, Steve Garofalo decided he would try to recapture that feeling.

He would attempt to recreate the Super O layout in his Las Vegas home.

Steve: I really liked the Lionel showroom layout from the late 50's, because that's what I remember most as a boy growing up.

My first visit to the Lionel showroom was in 1959, that holiday season.

And I remember seeing that layout in all it's splendor.

Having looked at the catalogues a year or two before that, seeing a large layout like that in person was just a tremendous "wow. "

And I always wanted to build something like that.

At the time, 1957 actually, Lionel introduced Super O track.

Prior to that it had a regular O gauge track available for many, many years, going back to the 30's.

The O gauge track is 1 4 inches between the outside rails and Super O track was an attempt to make O track, which, in it's tinplate form was not very realistic.

But it was an attempt to make it look more realistic.

Kind of paralleling the HO modelers, scale modelers.

With track profile.

Having the realistic track ties, they were plastic ties in the Super O track.

But it was a big marketing play by Lionel at the time and I really liked it.

I thought it added realism to the layout.

Annc: They say you can never go home, but Steve Garofalo gets pretty darn close.

His 13 X 30 foot layout is proof that you can bring the past back to life.

And, by deciding he didn't have to be a slave to every single historic detail, it allowed him to build a layout that some might argue is even better than the original.

It presented him the opportunity to mix the classic with the contemporary.

There are new trains, and vintage trains.

Originals and recreations, or re-issues.

There's a ballpark, but this one is animated.

There's a drive-in movie theater, but this one has a crystal clear LCD screen with a hidden DVD player.

And, as far as accessories are concerned, there's so much more available now compared to what was on the market fifty years ago.

It would be foolish not to take advantage of those options.

By not strictly sticking with Lionel products, Steve is allowed to add to the ambience, as well as use things that were used in his previous layouts.

And that makes financial sense as well.

eve: I took the basic track plan of Lionel back at that time, based on old photographs and some old footage and copied that, but added modern electronics to it.

In the old days everything was, increase the voltage on the track, the train goes faster.

Today's electronics call for putting full voltage to the track and then using a digital signal to talk to individual engines and address them accordingly.

So what I tried to do on this particular layout was take the old and new and put them together.

I have the old style throttle and I can run trains the old fashioned way.

In fact many of my trains are from the 50's and I run them the old fashioned way.

But I also have newer engines made by Lionel and some of its competitors - MTH and Williams and Weaver - and actually run those through digital electronics.

Same thing with the accessories.

The accessories, interestingly in the 50s never did work very well.

But as a child, I thought they were wonderful.

I still think they're wonderful.

Today Lionel has recreated many of it's accessories from the 50s.

Put in more sophisticated electronics and they operate better.

They look exactly the same as they did 50 years ago, but they operate better.

So I have actually used a combination of old and new.

And also the new ones are a lot cheaper than buying the old ones in good condition.

Annc: The control booth that Steve has put together is another visual centerpiece in the room, and another example of how old and new can be comfortably combined.

There are postwar transformers with new TrainMaster components, and even a modern MTH Digital Control System.

Steve: The control panel combines the old and new.

It has six ZW transformers, Lionel transformers that supply all the power to the railroad.

In addition to that there are a number of digital controls, digital meters that read the amperage and voltage.

They distribute the load appropriately across the layout.

In addition to that I have DCS controls made by MTH.

And Lionel TMCC controls.

So I can run both old style trains and the newer digital controlled trains.

Annc: It all allows Steve to run a classic layout for his own enjoyment, and the enjoyment of everyone who gets to visit this flashback.

Of course, Steve has additional expansion plans underway.

Well, that's it for this episode.

Please be sure to join us next time for more, Tracks Ahead.

Music Tracks Ahead Brought to you by Rancho de Tia Rosa, a Mexican restaurant serving the Phoenix area since 1990.

Walthers, manufacturer and supplier of model railroading products; serving the hobby since 1932.

Music