Train Show Pictures Pictures from 14 TH Annual OT&W Model Railroad Show Held January 21rd - 22th, 2005 at the Show Barn at Thanksgiving Point.

Utah Free-Mo participated in the OT&W 14th Annual Train Show January 21-22, 2005. The OT&W Model Railroad Club returned to the Show Barn at Thanksgiving Point for a second year. And once again the show went very well. Attendance was up significantly from the 2004 show. Well over 3000 adults and children packed into the barn during the two day event. Most people seemed to leave with a smile on their face. It seems the only ones not smiling were the children who weren’t ready to leave.

This year, three more layouts were packed into the barn for the year show. These layouts were small, but space was tight. As was the case last year, Utah Free-Mo was setup against the stage which worked well for us.

All of the modules had arrived by 11:30. A small crew setup the layout very quickly. Without much difficulty the modules were on their legs, leveled, clamped and bridge rails installed by 1:30. Jim Moore and Adam Eastman then began setting up the DCC as skirting, ropes and details went up. It had been decided to use a power scheme similar to the successful setup at Wasatch Rails 2004. The layout was divided into three power districts. Each district was powered by a DB150 and a PS515. A DCS100 was used as a command stations but was not hooked to track power. While three power districts really was overkill for this size of layout, using the same scheme as our larger layout did serve as a useful practice for future shows.

Our only problem of consequence arose during the set up and troubleshooting of the DCC on Friday. We had an unusual combination of problems (3 separate problems) that made troubleshooting difficult. It turned out that we had a bad Loconet cable, a short caused by reversed Jones plugs, and a sequencing problem with boosters and the command station. This combination of problems created a very strange set of symptoms there were difficult to diagnose. Eventually Jim and Adam tracked down the problems. Other than causing some immediate frustrations, it wasn't really a big deal. Some helpful lessons were learned and this should help speed up future setups.

The layout looked really good and ran very well. The layout was larger than last year, despite the absence of our three largest module sets. This really speaks to the growth that we have seen over the past year. Despite the absence of Lavo Loop, Smokey Point Yard, and Faust siding we were still able to run several trains at a time. The success of the layout was due largely to some last minute work on a couple of modules. Jim Moore worked with Adam Eastman to modify the retired Diesel Shop module. The Moore Shops module is a legacy NMRA module that had been previously adapted to Free-Mo standards. The module had two mainline, but only one was being used. A crossover was cut, which combined with Jim’s existing tail module added an extra siding. This gave a total of two sidings and engine storage at the west end of the layout.

Jim and Adam also modified a section of the old East yard. This was an 8 inch wide section that had been saved when the modules had been narrowed in 2002 in an effort to lighten and upgrade the modules. A circular saw had been used to cut 8 inches off the front of the four modules. One of the middle sections, which had three parallel tracks running the length of the module, had been saved. Jim and Adam added two turnouts creating a three track mini-mo stub end staging yard.

These two modules worked very well to anchor the ends of the layout. Short trains were staged at the ends of the layout and were operated in an out and back scheme. Between the two ends of the layout were three passing sidings. These sidings were all about equal length which allowed several trains to operate on the layout at the same time. Scenic run through modules separated the sidings which helped break up the layout. One section was created by the combination of Mike Hansen's two corners and Jim's corner to make a nice S curve. The other section consisted of Bill Schlotthauer’s Knight Junction and Mike Hansen's new tunnel module set. These scenic run through modules not only helped stretch out the runs between sidings but also added a lot of visual interest.

In the center of the layout between the s curve and the tunnel was Sterling Moore’s module set. Since the last show in November, Sterling added a new second five foot module. Sterling also rearranged his track work to provide a siding and more switching activity. Both of his modules looked great, providing both visual and operational interest to the layout.

Operations stay informal all weekend. Group members kept several trains working the layout. On a few occasions it looked like a Union Pacific operation as trains filled the sidings and waited for the tracks to clear. Despite the occasional congestions the trains ran very well over the layout. Group members had a lot of fun just running trains and interacting with the public. The layout drew a lot of interest and several people expressed interest in Free-Mo. The weekend also provided a good opportunity to test modules and prepare for the larger Hostler’s Festival coming up the first weekend of March. All in all it was a fun and successful weekend for Utah Free-Mo.

The Layout

Setup is just underway. Most of the modules have been hauled in and are just being put up on their legs. Mike Hansen is working on legs on his modules.	The layout is together and the last of the joiner rails are in. Looking at the east end of the layout the 8 inch mini-mo staging yard and the S curve are visible. Sterling (Left in yellow cap) adds buildings and details to his modules while Jim starts setting up the DCC.	Looking across the layout from the west end for a good overall view of the other half of the layout.	Sterling Moore's module set added a lot of operational and visual interest to the layout. Looking west across his module set towards his new module and Mike Hansen's tunnel module.
Photos by Adam Eastman