Gordon Garnhart, Photos by Al Frasch

There were 25 people gathered in the modest sized home of Phil and Susan Gonzales in Oak Harbor on the evening of June 9th.  They had hoped that the crowd overflow could spill out onto the back patio, but the weatherman did not cooperate. However, the layout was definitely worth the trip. They had sealed the door of a single car garage and devoted the space to a very interesting HO layout based on the Carson, Colorado, rail line that ran from Carson City to Keeler. It is set in the early 1940s during World War II. Theirs is a work in process, but they have made great strides, and are developing a layout that will lend itself well to rewarding operating sessions for four to six people.

In Phil’s own words:

It was a lot of fun to have everyone over, although it was a little nerve wracking in the days leading up to it  I started on the layout in October of 2005. Susan started helping about a year later. It took that long to get her hooked! The layout is 11’x16’. The continuous run is a folded dog bone of about 60 feet in length. The Eastern Sierra Pacific has about 75 feet of track, with about 25 feet of that using part of the loop.  We operate as a point to point, using a Digitrax Zephyr DCC system. There are two hidden three-track staging yards that are each nine feet long. The loop has a minimum radius of 26 inches and a maximum grade of 2.25%. The ESP has an 18 inch radius and a max grade of 3.5%. No helpers are needed as the trains are short and the length of the grade is not very long.

Susan’s biggest enjoyment is scenery and buildings. Downtown Deco is her favorite. She has painted most of the backdrop. She also makes the trees. I help with scenery by building the basic plaster shell, rock work and first layer of ground cover. She does most of the finish earth layers.

I do all track and wiring, and have started teaching Susan to ballast. I really enjoy wooden building kits and building and weathering rolling stock.

But the best part of it all is having a wife that has taken an interest in the hobby. Everyone should be so lucky.

We will not have a formal clinic during the months of July and August, but on Wednesday, September 8th we will meet back in the conference room at the Summer Hill Retirement Community at 165 6th Avenue in Oak Harbor where we look forward to enjoying a talk by Noel Holly from the Bellingham Museum about, “Milwaukee Electrification”.