By Ken Liesse
On May 17th, members and guests of the Eastside Clinic had the privilege of visiting Peter Hambling’s layout, the Northwest Trunk Line, in Medina, WA. This tour was facilitated by 4D clinician and long-time worker-bee on Peter’s layout, Dave Hikel. 60 or so folks visited the layout, an awe-inspiring affair that covers the entire basement of Peter’s house. The 3200 sq. ft. layout is based on a John Allen design and encompasses both three-rail O and On30. Dave and his team have made extensive use of computers in designing and running the layout, making it possible for the computer to run trains for open houses without need of operator interference.
The basis for the layout are individual scenes taken around North America that have caught Peter’s attention. Detail is paramount and each scene is even completed with dirt garnered from the places the scenes represent. Sound is also a big component of the layout, right down to the station announcements made when our demonstration train pulled into a station. Even the earthquake braces on the basement support posts were painted to match the posts themselves.
We thank Peter & Laurie Hambling for allowing us to invade their home as well as Dave Hikel for setting up the visit. A most enjoyable get-together.
For more photos from the visit, click here.
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